


After The Fire, New Lives Begin

by ShuffleCat



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Jester is very nice, M/M, Mollymauk and Beau try to be sneaky, Pastries are given, Sad Caleb Widogast, Slice of Life, business owners
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 37,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25965508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShuffleCat/pseuds/ShuffleCat
Summary: After a fire destroys a part of Zadash the damaged buildings are turned into new store fronts, in the bid to start a new shopping area of the city. This story will show how the characters from the Mighty Nein meet and their adventures in owning their own stores and supporting their friends with their new businesses.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 73





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first time writing for Critical Role, and I'm eager to get everything uploaded! I also write for Marvel and Rise of the Guardians, under the name over on fanfiction.net
> 
> I hope you enjoy the story and will follow along!

**Chapter 1**   
_It Began With The Fire_

Nobody was truly sure what had caused the fire that tore through the older buildings of Zadash. While the city had been modernized to an extent, many of the older buildings were left in a bid to preserve the history of the city. There were three distinct areas of the city where the old buildings were protected by heritage laws. Each area was easily distinguished by the larger, more modern buildings that sandwiched the smaller sections of older historical structures. One area was the Tri-Spires, with regular maintenance to ensure that the buildings appeared as good as when they were first built. Two other areas, smaller areas containing only a small handful of buildings, were amongst the rest of the city but did not receive nearly as much care and maintenance as the Tri-Spires. It was barely past midnight on a Monday morning when one of these smaller areas, the oldest of the two non Tri-Spire areas, caught fire and burned through the morning until the sun was well above the horizon.   
The fire was declared extinguished at two minutes past nine in the morning, leaving the city sky full of smoke and loose bits of ash.   
Those who didn’t see the destruction in person that morning saw it on the news, or heard about it on the radio or through gossip. It was the only subject being reported on, as nothing of such importance had happened in a long time in the city. There were numerous discussions, some heated and some more calm, about what had caused the flame and what would be done with the damaged buildings. Many proposed that it had been arson, caused by property developers eager to demolish the buildings and construct newer, modern office buildings and apartment blocks. Some proposed that it was simply age and that the last few weeks of hot, summer air had simply caused a fire to spark in the older, dry timber that supported the buildings. Inspections and investigations into the fire and it’s damage took just over a week to complete before being given to the city council so a decision could be made. It was soon announced that the buildings would be salvaged as best as possible and renovated to be safe and while they would be more modern, it was a goal that the buildings would retain as much of their original look as possible.   
The buildings, which made up a U shape at the end of a quiet, low foot-traffic shopping street would be re-marketed as retail spaces and would go up for rent as soon as the renovation and restoration work was complete. There were five older spaces for rent, as well as two spaces that would be added to make the U more even. The central part of the U would be cut off to traffic and become an open-air market, where people could set up their own booths every weekend and sell their wares.   
Construction began and took a little over eight months to be completed. Spaces were put up for rent and sale but went slowly, as many retailers did not see how the quiet street would become busy enough to warrant the cost of a new space. Three of the seven stores were taken in the first fortnight but the others were passed up by interested parties in favor of better spaces in busier parts of the city.   
The first set of keys were handed to one of the first renters of the new marketplace, a young man with dirty red hair, and he began to move in to the shop that same day. The next morning, a basic wooden sign was hanging above the door of the shop. It’s lettering was neat cursive that had been burnt into the wood. It read ‘The Bookman’. 


	2. The Doors Are Open

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb and Nott set up the story, excited for their first day of business to begin.

**Chapter 2**   
_The Doors Are Open_

The door to the shop creaked when Caleb pushed it open. It stuck a little, as it had each time he’d opened it, but opened when he gave it a more forceful shove. Once the door was shut behind him he looked out into the dark store interior, which was only dark for a brief moment before three small balls of light floated up into the higher parts of the beamed ceiling and slowly dimmed until the light was no longer painful to his eyes.   
“Have we moved everything in now?” A small voice asked from behind him, closer to the floor.   
“Yes, I believe so. I shall return the keys to our landlord tomorrow morning.” Caleb answered.   
He moved further into the store, with the small goblin woman that had come with him following behind. Her arms loaded with the last few boxes of their belongings.   
“This store is the cheapest in terms of rent as it is one of the few without an upstairs that has legal height for a store space.” The real estate woman, a blonde lady with a friendly smile that reached her eyes, had explained to him. “It would be perfectly alright for it to be used as storage however. There is a small washroom attached as well.” She gestured to a thin door in the back corner of the upstairs space. “The building had been used by a painting business for some time and the owner liked washing up before moving down to the store front. The room only has a basic toilet, sink and a wall mounted shower.”   
Caleb was nodding, imaging how he could set up the space for him and Nott to live in. They would keep it basic, so that if anyone asked, he could simply say it was in case of overnight stays as he lived some distance away. If they kept everything neat and tidy, the space would still feel open enough not to make them feel suffocated.   
“It is a fine space.” Caleb said, coming out his thoughts. “Can the papers be signed today?”  
The downstairs was a simple stout rectangle, barely not a square, with the back left corner walled in to be an office. This would be his office and if needed, a space to work on any translation work he was commissioned with. While buying and selling books made some money, more substantial amounts could be made by translating documents and books people brought to him. If some of these documents and books contained interesting spells or information of a magical nature, nobody was any the wiser if Caleb copied the text down for himself before returning the item to the client. They spent the remainder of the day tidying the store and arranging the upstairs to be as functional as possible. It was strange, to be setting up somewhere new to be their home but he was beginning to get excited about the new opportunities the store may offer them. They slept well that night, exhausted after the past days of moving and packing, and both were eager to open the store the next day.  
“Do you think we’ll get busy?” Nott asked as she raced through the main area of the shop and lit the various candles she had placed in an ‘aesthetically pleasing manner’, according to what she had told Caleb. The candles were a special gift he had made for her, as she had been so excited about giving the bookstore ‘just the right atmosphere’. The candles would not go out on their own and were just as safe as any electrical faux candle would be, the fire could not jump from the wick to anything else. The numerous, carefully placed, candles lit the room up with a warm orange glow that did not quite fill the space. It was warm and cozy and Caleb adored everything about it. His favourite part of the whole thing was the look on Nott’s face as she looked around at the room, obviously pleased with her work.   
“Ah Schatz, you have done such a wonderful job.” Caleb said, resting a hand on Nott’s head and giving small, gentle stroke over her hair. “We will not be busy for some time I imagine, we have only just opened after all.”   
“But…eventually, we will right?” Nott asked, trying not to wring her hands together. Where would they go next if this failed? Caleb had already had to leave one apartment due to his landlord suspecting what Nott really was. Where could they go from here?  
“I can only make lights, Schatz, not tell the future.” Caleb said with a slight grin. “We will have to wait and see. I shall open up soon, would you like to get anymore work done upstairs?-”  
“Oh uh-”  
“Or would you rather stay down here and help? We can disguise you for a little while, if you like.”   
“…I’d like to help down here, if thats okay-”  
“We still have ten minutes, you go do what you like and I shall disguise you once the doors are open.”  
“We only have one door, Caleb.”  
“Ja, it is a figure of speech.”  
The two parted, Caleb staying downstairs and readying the store to open while Nott did some quick final changes upstairs. Nott got to Caleb just as he flicked the sign from ‘closed’ to ‘open’ and moments later, Nott was disguised as a round faced, brown haired halfling with a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Caleb had noticed Nott looking at aprons online, many times, so he decided to include a forest green apron with “The Bookman” embroidered over the breast as part of her look.   
“There.” Caleb said. “Now you are ready to sell books!”  
Nott didn’t say anything but Caleb caught her looking down at the apron during the morning, running her hands over the illusory outfit with a small smile. Caleb had opened the store officially at nine o’clock and the bell rang for the first time at ten o’clock. The door burst open, sending light in from outside, illuminating the shape of the tiefling standing in the doorway. She was wearing a neat dress that started white at the top and faded down into light pink then a darker pink at the hem. She was wearing an apron, which was a similar green to the one he had given to Nott’s disguise, over the dress. The most…obvious thing about her tiefling was that she was very blue.   
“Hi!” She said cheerfully in an accent he couldn’t place, her arms wrapped around a small bundle of papers. “I’m Jester!”


	3. She Is Very Sweet (And Blue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jester has arrived, excited to get her own business up and going! First, she needs to sort out these papers that Fjord told her are very important...and, maybe she can meet her neighbours!

_**Chapter 3** _   
_She Is Very Sweet (And Blue)_

Caleb stared at her for a moment, throwing a quick sideways glance to Nott but returning his gaze to the very blue woman who was now in his shop and closing the door behind her.  
“Ah- ah, hallo. Jester, was it?” He asked her.   
Jester answered the question with a wide smile and a nod of her head.  
“Yes, that’s right!” Her voice was loud and bubbly and neither Nott or Caleb were quite sure what to make of her. Jester moved closer to Caleb, who was standing behind the front counter, near the cash register. A book was open on the counter in front of him. Jester motioned with her arms to the bundle of papers she was holding, numerous documents and important bits of paper she needed to keep safe.  
“Would you happen to have a stapler?” She asked and the man blinked at her before answering with a small nod.  
“I’ve got it.” The halfling woman said before rushing off to a room tucked into the back of the store, which now that Jester looked round properly, she saw was full of books.   
“Ah! You’re a bookstore!”   
The halfling woman returned with a stapler in hand.   
“Ah, yes. Oh thank you.” He said, taking the stapler from the woman and holding it out for Jester.  
“Oh thank you! You’re very kind. I need to keep this all together, it’s very important stuff.” She told him. He made room on the counter for her to place her papers down to sort them before stapling them.   
“Ja, they look very- ah, wait one second.” The man said before disappearing into the small room that the stapler had been retrieved from. Jester watched the man walk out of view, and thought about him while he was gone, doing whatever it was he had decided was more interesting than talking to her. He was thin, she thought, he needed lots of pastries to fill his figure out a little bit. Were pastries a good way of saying thank you for using a stapler? Nobody could say no to pastries, she thought.   
She was brought out of her thoughts by something leaping up onto the counter from the other side. An orange cat with brown and almost black stripes was sitting on her papers, staring up at her with yellow eyes.  
Jester let out a squeal before she could stop herself, just as the man emerged from the room.  
“Is everything alright- ah, my apologies. He tends to sit where he likes.” The scruffy man said, his scruffiness only now revealed as he wondered through the patches of candle light back to the cash register and the cat who had joined them.  
“He is very cute!” Jester said. Her hand were resting on the counter and she was leaning just very so lightly forward, hoping the cat might come closer to say hello. She was glad Fjord wasn’t here, he would definitely tell her she was being rude. Fjord was very nice and lots of fun but he could be a real party pooper sometimes.   
“His name is Frumpkin.” He man said and held something out to her. It was a plastic file folder, with thick plastic as the front and back panels and thinner plastic sleeves inside. “This will keep them safer, I have extras.”  
“Ohmygoshareyousure?!” Jester asked, excited and happy and surprised by the man. He was so nice! “You’re very nice!”  
“It is…ja, I am sure.” He watched as she shooed the cat off of her papers and carefully filed them away, keeping them neatly organized as Fjord had said to do.   
“Caleb, I’m going upstairs.” The halfling woman called out before heading up a staircase and vanishing from sight.   
“Ja, alright.” The man called back.  
“Your name is Caleb?” Jester asked, her eyes finding the man’s and she could see a flash of…something over his face but it quickly returned to a neutral expression.   
“Ja, Caleb Widogast. The woman is Veth, she helps in the store.” Caleb said, gesturing to the stairs the woman had gone up.  
“Okay! It is nice to meet you Caleb!” She said, and went to turn away but quickly stopped and looked back at him. “Oh Caleb, I nearly forgot! We’re like, neighbours!”  
“Was?”  
“I’m opening up a bakery!” She told him. “It’s like, across from you but…it’s diagonal from your store! I’m going to open up tomorrow! You and Veth and Frumpkin should come visit, I’ll be open at eight!”   
Jester grabbed her folder and hugged it to her chest, giving the man a wide smile before skipping to the front door and pulling it open, once again illuminating herself in the light from outside.  
“Goodbye Caleb and Veth and Frumpkin! It was nice meeting you! I LIKE YOUR APRON!” Jester shouted the last part before disappearing outside and pulling the door closed after her. The bakery door wasn’t very far at all and she was soon back inside her own shop, which still smelt of the light blue paint that was drying on the walls. Once it was fully dry, she would paint the rest of the mural. She imagined the walls of the bakery to be painted like a huge field of wildflowers, with the blue sky reaching up and covering the ceiling in the same light blue.   
Fjord had told her he would bring her a gift later in the day when he finished work and she had told him not to worry, she didn’t need gifts! But…she was curious about what he’d get her. She thought it would be some new shelves for the back room, he had told her she needed to organise better before she opened. She set the folder in a safe place before getting to work; she wanted the place as tidy as possible before Fjord arrived.   
She managed it just in time, setting herself up to get back to work on the mural, rather than boring cleaning work, when the door opened and Fjord let himself in with the spare key Jester had given him.  
“Fjord!” Jester cheered, looking up at the green half-orc from where she was crouched with a paintbrush held between her lips and another in her hand, who was standing there with a neatly wrapped gift in one hand and a flatpack set of shelvees tucked under his other arm.   
“Heya Jes, how’s the shop going?” The green half-orc man asked, giving her a friendly smile. 


	4. But Which One Is Cute?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fjord arrives at the bakery to help Jester get ready for her first day of opening and he brings a gift with him.

**Chapter 4**   
_But Which One Is Cute?_

“It’s going so well!” Jester told him while she worked on her painting. She was sitting on a small wooden stool that Fjord had brought out to her from the back room of the bakery. “I got lots done today and I went to ask someone for a stapler but they gave me a folder and now my papers are all tidy and I made some friends!”  
Fjord blinked at her from where he was sitting on the floor, in the middle of the room far away from any of the wet paint.  
“You’ve been here for like ten hours and you’ve made friends. Course you have. What are they like?”  
“Well one owns a bookstore and one is a halfling and one is a cat called Frumpkin! He is very cute-”  
“The one who owns the bookstore, or the halfling or-”  
“Eww Fjord! The cat! Don’t be silly.” She scolded without looking at him. She was focused on her painting so much that her tongue was sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she carefully added petals to one of the flowers. “Anyway! Frumpkin is very nice, and I want to give them some pastries tomorrow.”  
“Pastries for the cat?”  
“No to the bookstore guy and the halfling!”  
Fjord chuckled at Jester.  
“Alright, why are you giving them pastries?”  
“Because they’re super nice! The bookstore guy is a little scruffy but that’s okay! Oh! His name is Caleb and the halfling is called Veth. I liked her apron, it was the same colour as mine.”   
“Oh? Reckon hers is from Nicodranas as well?” He asked.  
The green apron had been a gift from Jester’s mother, apparently from a tailor she knew in the town. It was a simple gift, much simpler than other gifts Marion had sent her daughter but Jester had sobbed when she opened the parcel.   
“Oh maybe! That would be crazy, hey?” Jester asked, musing to herself more than Fjord as she tidied off her paintbrushes and got up from the stool. “I think I’m all done for today!”  
“Already? You’ve been busy, Jes.”  
“Yep! I can do the shelves in the morning! I’ll get here super early. Do you wanna go get something to eat?”  
“Well we can…after.”  
“After what?”  
Fjord nodded his head towards the wrapped gift box sitting on the floor. Jester let out a squeal and darted over to the box she had forgotten about.  
“I forgot Fjord! I’m so sorry!”  
Fjord chuckled. “S’alright Jes, go on.”   
Jester made quick work of the pink wrapping paper and ribbon Fjord had chosen to wrap the plain mailing box. She blinked at the box, obviously not expecting Fjord to have wrapped a parcel. She opened the box and just stared at the contents. Fjord watched as she pulled the three neatly folded aprons out of the box. A plain black one, a light pink one and a lavender coloured one, all with silver hardware and simple white straps that wrapped around to tie at the back.  
“Fjord!” She shouted. “These are-”  
“Your ma told me where she got your other one-”  
Jester was suddenly there, wrapping her arms around him in a very tight hug.   
“Fjord!” She was almost crying. Fjord gave a soft loft and returned the hug.  
“S’alright Jes, it’s a gift. I did miss your last birthday, ‘member?”  
“That wasn’t your fault!”  
It really hadn’t been.  
“Do ya like em?” He asked.  
“Yes! They’re…perfect!” She said as she let go of him and went back to the box so he could grab the aprons out and look them over carefully.   
“I’m glad, Jes. You gotta keep yourself clean back in the kitchen.” He said, grinning at her as she gently placed the aprons on the counter near the display cabinets “You ready for tomorrow?”   
Jester bit her lip.  
“I…I think so.” She said quietly. “How do I know if I’m ready?”   
“It’s alright not to be, you know? You got me and Beau to help out if you need it. You’ll be alright.”   
The two did some more work around the bakery, tidying up so Jester would have less thing to do in the morning, before locking up and heading out to get takeaway for dinner.   
Beau was already in Fjord’s apartment, lounging on the couch with the TV on, when Jester and Fjord arrived.   
“Thanks for knocking.” Fjord said as he unpacked their food.   
“Stop having such an easily climbable fire escape.” Beau said without looking away from the TV.  
“Beau! You have a key!” Jester said, hands on her hips. “Don’t climb fire escapes, it’s dangerous!”   
“I’ve told you before, Jes. Danger is my middle name and I’m an idiot.” Beau accepted a cardboard box of noodles that Fjord held in front of her face with eager eyes and grabby hands.“Anyway, how’s the bakery going?”  
“Jester made friends.” Fjord said, answering for Jester before the tiefling could swallow her mouthful of noodles.  
“Already? You haven’t even been there a full day yet.”   
“I said the same thing.”  
“Fjord! I told you, they’re really nice!”  
“You just like that the guy has a cat.” Fjord said, shooting Jester a look as he shoveled rice into his mouth. “Which means I can never go into that shop.”  
“Oh…yeah.” Jester said, realising. “That’s too bad…he’s really cute.”  
“Are we talking about the cat or the guy?” Beau asked, easily dodging the chopsticks that Jester threw at her while Fjord laughed. 


	5. The Blue One Returns (With Pastries)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jester is ready for business! 
> 
> She decide to thank the kind bookstore man with some pastries and somehow Fjord has been convinced to tag along.

**Chapter 5**   
_The Blue One Returns (With Pastries)_

“Okay.” Jester said to herself as she packed the pastries in their cardboard box. “That’s four pastries total and a milk for Frumpkin.”  
“No coffees?” Fjord asked.  
“I don’t know what they drink!” Jester pouted. “I didn’t know what to make for them.”  
“I guess you can ask while we’re in there.” Fjord said with a shrug. He’d taken his antihistamine in preparation for meeting Jester’s new best friend, Frumpkin the bookstore cat. If they ran into Caleb and Veth as well, that was only a bonus as far as Jester seemed to be concerned.   
“No pastries for the cat?” He asked.  
“Cats can’t eat pastries, Fjord.” Jester said, followed by a pause before she continued with. “At least I don’t think so.”  
Fjord let out a sighed before saying. “Well, let’s go then.”  
They headed out of the bakery and locked the door before hurrying across the cobblestone square to the door of the bookstore. Jester could see movement inside, through the large front window, so she knocked rapidly on the door and waited. The cardboard box of pastries and the tiny plastic cup of milk was held safely in her hands, resting against her chest just in case.  
There was more movement inside, followed by silence for a moment before the door opened to reveal Caleb standing there wearing a brown coat with a scarf around his neck.   
Scruffy was definitely the right word, Fjord thought to himself when he saw the man.   
“Ja?” Caleb asked. There was movement behind him and the room slowly became brighter and brighter as lights turned on. Fjord couldn’t see into the store with the entrance blocked by Caleb’s form.   
“Good morning, Caleb! I brought you some pastries!”  
“Ah- was? Why?”  
“You were very nice yesterday! I wanted to say thank you.”   
Caleb looked confused for a moment before nodding and opening the door wider to let them both in. The pair followed the man in, where Fjord and Jester saw a halfling woman darting around the room lighting candles.   
“Caleb we aren’t open yet! I’m not ready!” She scolded him from where she in a corner of the room where she was busy lighting a number of candles.  
“Ja, I know. It is the blue lady, she has brought pastries for us.” Caleb said flatly. The woman turned,her eyes and smile wide and excited.   
“Really?” She asked and Caleb nodded. “Oh, how nice!”   
“Ja, very nice.” Caleb said before shooing a cat, likely Frumpkin, off of the front counter.   
“Hello Frumpkin!” Jester said as she placed the box onto the counter and quickly opened it to pull out the cup of milk, which she sat on the floor and took the lid off. “I don’t think cats can eat pastries but maybe you can have milk!”   
Fjord noticed a look on Caleb’s face, either confusion or amusement, but the man didn’t say anything.   
“Jester-” He began.   
“Yes, yes! Sorry! We must be quick.” She said. “This is Fjord, he is one of my bestest friends but he is very allergic to cats so we have to be quick! It was nice to see you again bye!”  
With that, the pair was back outside and the door to the bookstore was shut behind them.  
“What an odd girl.” Caleb said as he held the cardboard box out for Nott to take a look at the neatly made pastries they had been given.   
“She seems…nice, if a little loud.”  
“We shall tell her that Frumpkin liked the milk, ja?” Caleb asked. “I will use the milk to make our tea, but we shan’t tell her that.”  
“Oh good idea Caleb!” Veth cheered, quickly turning into Nott as Caleb dropped the quickly applied disguise. “Lucky you can do that spell so quickly.”  
“Ja, I am glad they knocked, it was a good warning.”  
The two of them enjoyed their pastries with cups of tea that Caleb made for them upstairs using the milk Jester had left for Frumpkin.   
“You know…maybe putting food and water bowls out is a good idea?” Nott suggested closer to opening time.  
“For?”  
“For Frumpkin, you know, to add to the illusion about him being a real cat? Maybe a cat bed as well.”  
“That is…not a bad idea, Nott. We will need to look at buying him some things.”   
Frumpkin listened to the conversation from his perch a top wooden bookcase ladder, largely uninterested in the mundane chatter. He fell asleep there, only disturbed during the day when the bell above the door would ring as someone entered or left. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**   
_Could He Read My Future? (Does It Involve The Giantess?)_

“How’s the first week been, Jes?” Fjord asked. He’d turned up to the store first thing Saturday morning just as Jester was arriving herself. There was a stack of bags on the floor next to her and Fjord could tell she had been to the bulk store nearby to stock up on more supplies. He grabbed a stack of bags containing flour and caught the smile on Jester’s face when she noticed what he’d done.  
“Oh thank you Fjord!” She said cheerfully. “It’s been a little slow but you know, it’ll get better. I was a little upset last night but the Traveller said that being patient is good so I guess I’ll try that.”   
Fjord nodded, pleased that the slow start didn’t seen to be affecting Jester as much as he had feared. He looked around as he waited for her to open the door and get them inside.   
The cobblestone square that acted as the middle of the U shaped street end was busy already with various booths and stalls setting up to meet the nine o’clock start time for the markets. There were already numerous stalls selling freshly made breads and homegrown vegetables, with other stalls getting ready to set out their own wares of handmade jewelery and house hold items.   
“-which I mean isn’t a big deal, I just got so sick of sweeping up all the glass, it took ages! And oh! A new shop opened yesterday.” Jester was saying when Fjord attention returned to her.  
“Oh yeah?”  
“Yeah! Directly opposite, over the square! They sell pretty stuff like crystals and rocks and nice herbs and- is that a tiefling?!”   
Fjord hadn’t noticed the other tiefling standing near one of the booths. He had been too busy looking at the shop that had only recently opened further behind the man. Once Fjord saw him, he didn’t understand how it had taken him so long to notice the man. The tiefling was…a character.  
It was definitely a tiefling; with lavender coloured skin and darker purple hair, covered with tattoos that were partly hidden by the long patchwork coat he was wearing. The coat was embroidered with all sorts of religious symbols and iconography in a clash of bright colours. Jewelery and various chains decorated his horns, which curved back away from his head.   
Fjord saw him look at the sound of Jester’s voice with a glare, which quickly morphed into confusion and finally, a grin. The purple tiefling didn’t have eyes like Jester’s but rather he had solid red eye-shaped orbs with no different colours or tones.   
“Fuckin’…he heard you.” Fjord said, only to glance to his side and see Jester waving at the other tiefling. “Oh for…open the door and let me in, Jes.”  
“But Fjord, it’s a tiefling!” She whined.   
“And I’m holding four sacks of flour for ya, let me inside!” Fjord said, shaking the stack of bags he was holding. Jester giggling before turning and quickly opening the door for Fjord. When Fjord came back outside after dropping off the sacks, he could see Jester across the square talking to the other tiefling, who was leaning against one of the the wooden poles that helped support the booth he was standing near.  
“Fjord!” A voice called from behind him. “Hey, asshole!”  
Fjord sighed and looked over, raising an eyebrow as Beau approached.   
“I heard ya the first time.”  
“Where’s Jester?” Beau asked and followed Fjord hand when he pointed. “Who’s she talking to now- is that a tiefling?”   
“Sure is.”  
“…Is he purple?”  
“Yep.”  
“…I forget that they aren’t just blue, ya know?”   
Fjord and Beau crossed the square and found Jester again; she busy looking over the large bouquets of flowers that were neatly set up on the booth counter. Beau saw that there were even larger bouquets sitting in buckets on the floor just in front of the booth.   
“Heya Jest-”  
“Fjord! Beau!” Jester squealed when she noticed them approach.The purple tiefling had moved inside the booth and was now slightly bent over, elbows resting on the counter with his chin sitting on his folded together hands. He was watching Jester with an expression that a parent might look at their young child with, while they did something incredibly cute and possible stupid. “Aren’t they pretty!”   
“That’s a lot of flowers Jes, real nice ones too, you gonna get some?” Fjord asked.   
“I…no, maybe another day.” Jester said, and Fjord knew she was trying not to pout. “I gotta buy some more stuff for the bakery.”  
“Bakery?” The tiefling asked, his tail flicking excitedly through the air behind him.   
“Yeah!” Jester waved towards her store. “I opened up a bakery! You should come visit!”  
The tiefling’s grin spread out even more, into something almost cheshire-like. He opened his mouth to speak but another voice cut him off.  
“Molly, what are you doing?” The voice asked. The group glanced at where the voice, a rather soft one, had come form and saw someone Fjord could only describe as a giant. Beau would later describe her to fjord as being ‘ fucking terrifying and also the hottest thing she’s ever seen’. For now, Beau only stepped behind Fjord to shield herself from having to make conversation, lest she embarrass herself.   
“Yasha! I’m getting you some customers.” The tiefling said cheerfully, voice smooth as any Fjord and Beau had heard before. “And look! Another me!”   
He gestured with a hand to Jester, who waved at the rather muscular, pale skinned woman.   
“Mollymauk, I have prayed many times to never meet another you.” The woman said with a shake of her head. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.”  
Jester gave a little squeak when the woman greeted her and Fjord new that these two would also become Jester’s friends. People tended to not have a choice, Jester just sort of…swept you up.  
“She owns a bakery!” The tiefling, apparently called Mollymauk, told Yasha. “I’ll treat you to breakfast, if you like.”  
“Molly I haven’t got money for-”  
“That’s why I said I’d treat you!” He explained. “It’s like you don’t even listen to me anymore.”  
“There are times where that is true. Don’t you have readings this morning?”  
“Not until late!”  
“Readings?” Beau asked, already suspicious.  
Mollymauk answered by pulling a set of tarot cards from his coat.   
“Ah, thought so.” Beau said. “Right you two, let’s get the fuck outta here and open Jester’s bakery before she spends all her money on readings.”  
“Not a believer?” Mollymauk asked, grinning at Beau.  
“Not in bullshit.”   
“Beau is right you guys! It’s nearly time to open!” Jester gasped. “It was lovely to meet you Mollymauk, and you as well Yasha! I will get flowers another day!”   
Jester was gone, dragging Fjord along with him while she waved back at the two.   
“She is…nice.” Beau heard Yasha say.   
“Yes she is- are you still here?” Molly asked, and Beau realized it was aimed at her. Once Jester and Fjord were finally inside the bakery, she turned to look back at the booth.   
“Shut up.” Beau grumbled as she fished in her pocket for the gold she knew was in there. She reached down and grabbed one of the larger bouquets, made up of a selection of white and pale blue coloured flowers. She checked the tag and plonked the coin down onto the booth. The tall woman, Yasha, heard the noise of coin and glanced over from where she had been busy refilling one of the water buckets behind the counter.   
“O-oh, thank you.” She said.   
“No worries, she’ll like them.” Beau said before glancing at Molly and giving a final. “Fuck you.” before she headed back towards the bakery to give Jester the flowers. Beau and Fjord managed to get them into a vase before Jester saw them on the counter. Beau was thankful the store was about to open, it meant Jester couldn’t give her a crying hug.   
She was glad that Jester liked the flowers, though she’d never tell Mollymauk just how much she liked them. 


	7. Simply The Cutest

**Chapter 7**   
_Simply The Cutest_

Caleb was no longer surprised when there were rapid knocks at the front door every other morning while he and Nott set up the store. It was alarming that he was becoming so used to it and he couldn’t help but to feel some sense of guilt now and then as they enjoyed Jester’s pastries, as they had not offered her anything in return. It happened again that morning, with Jester appearing at their font door just as they began to get ready for the day.   
“Caleb!” Nott called out from downstairs.  
“Ja, ja, coming.” Caleb made his way downstairs as he adjusted the scarf around his neck. Nott had taken up knitting recently, using some yarn she had found cheap at a thrift-store. It was not the nicest scarf, with it being her first completed item, and was mismatch of colours and textures but it was her first completed project. He wore it and even though she argued against it, saying it was hideous and tat he should simply throw it away, he knew she was pleased by his action. Caleb pulled the door open as Nott ducked into the back office.  
“Ja, good morning Jest-” Jester was there with the usual box in hands. This time she was accompanied by someone who was not the half-orc or the woman with the half saved hair. This one was…also a tiefling. He was also very purple…and rather bright.  
“Hi Caleb!” Jester greeted him, as cheerful as ever.   
“Good morning Jester…you have brought someone new this time?”   
“Yep! This is Mollymauk!”   
Caleb noticed how the tiefling almost seemed to roll his strange red eye at the comment.  
“Mollymauk is my full name. Molly is for friends.” He explained. “She refuses to call me Molly no matter how many times I tell her to.”  
“I just think Mollymauk is a neat name, is all.” Jester said. “Anyway! Caleb, these pastries are special today. They are new ones for the bakery, you have to tell me what you think! I gave some to Fjord and Beau as well, and Molly! If you guys think they’re good I’ll add them to the menu.”  
“O-oh, ja. We can do that. Thank you Jester.” Caleb said awkwardly as he took the box from her. Molly was silently pleased by the scruffy man Jester had shown him. Something about him was just…pleasant, cozy almost. “I…I have to admit, I feel a little guilty taking all of your goods-”  
“What! Why Caleb?”  
“We have not paid for any of them, Jester.” Caleb said. “We do not tend to…we have a tight budget, right now.”  
“Oh…” Jester fell silent and Mollymauk was distracted by her thoughtful face by another face joinging them, winding it’s way from between Caleb’s lower legs.  
“Oh, hello.” Molly said as he crouched down to look at the cat.It was still partly wrapped around one of Caleb’s legs, keeping itself as out of reach as it liked. “You are very cute.”   
“Caleb!” Jester shouted suddenly, taking Caleb’s attention from Mollymauk and Frumpkin to her. “I would like to some play with Frumpkin some time.”   
“Was?” Caleb asked, and Molly was sure it was a question going by his inflection. What language was that?  
“I like Frumpkin! You can have pastries if I can come see Frumpkin.”   
Caleb looked at the cat between his legs for a moment before returning his gaze to Jester.   
“He could come hang out with you, if you like.”  
“What?” Jester asked.  
“Perhaps not inside the bakery, of course but he would be happy to sit outside in the sun. That way you can go see him when you have a moment, rather than having to come find me.” Caleb said. “It will also be much easier than trying to find him in the store. He tends to hide.”  
“Really!? Ohmygosh! Frumpkin do you wanna come hang out at the bakery?” Jester asked the cat, crouching down so she was closer to it. “You can sit in the sun as much as you like.”   
It took a few seconds but eventually Frumpkin unwound himself from Caleb and stepped out to rub himself against Jester’s legs, before wrapping itself around them. Jester’s squeal of delight told Molly and Caleb that the deal was made.   
“Thank you Caleb!” Jester called back with a wave as she headed off with Mollymauk,Frumpkin trotting along beside her as they went.   
“What a…funny man, he seems nice though.” Molly said. “A little awkward…okay, a lot awkward.”   
Molly had ducked back to the shop he had taken up as his newest place for readings; a rather pleasant store selling all sorts of incense and trinkets. He had a number of cushions in his reading room and had grabbed one of the flatter ones to place on the floor outside the door to Jester’s bakery. Frumpkin eyed it for a moment before deciding it was okay and curling up on it.  
“He is just the cutest!” Jester said, placing a dish of water on the floor for Frumpkin. “You can come inside a little if you want Frumpkin, okay? Just follow someone in! Not for long though, and if a green orc guy comes you gotta get outside okay?”  
Frumpkin allowed the blue woman to pet his his ears for a moment, before she returned to the bakery and the purple man wandered off.   
The sun was lovely and warm and passerbys seemed content to give him a quick pat as they wondered past. He did disappear into the bakery for a short look inside, following a small family in and taking a look around the store. He explored one of the display tables in the corner, where a large vase of vases was set. He was back outside and returning home before the blue lady saw him.   
“Ah, naughty cat, you are back already.” Caleb said, seeing Frumpkin on one of the shelves later in the afternoon. “You will make it quite hard to keep up this deal.”   
Caleb gave the cat the pat he knew it was hoping for and later that night, Frumpkin communicated as bes he could, giving Caleb quick visions and glances of his day in the sun and his journey into the bakery. There were snippets of conversations, including numerous ones of Jester telling Frumpkin how lovely he was. Caleb decided that perhaps he needn’t be so nervous around Jester anymore. She seemed…safe.


	8. We've Been Discovered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb makes an odd comment and Molly decides to investigate.

**Chapter 8**   
_We’ve Been Discovered_

“Miss Jester!” Molly shouted, catching sight of the other tiefling. “Jester?”  
She was walking quickly and judging by the slight redness around her eyes, was likely upset. Mollymauk gave a quick wave to Yasha before leaving the flower booth and following after the blue woman, heading into the bookstore she had just entered. Hopefully everything was alright.  
He entered the store to find a very unsettled Caleb and a very, very upset Jester at the main counter.  
“I-I’m so-sorry.” Jester was trying to say. “I didn’t mean to-I just…slipped and-”  
“Jester, you have not explained what has happened.”  
“I broke it!” Jester cried out. She was holding her two hands out, showing Caleb something that looked like a stick broken in half.   
The expression on Caleb’s face seemed to melt into something more…calm and comforting.  
“Scheisse, Jester, you had me worried.” Caleb said. “It is nothing to worry about. You slipped? Are you alright?”   
“Y-yes…but the-”  
“It is simply a pen Jester, ja, a nice one but it can be replaced.” Caleb fussed about checking Jester for any serious injuries before his eyes caught site of Mollymauk off to the side. “Ah-ah, Mollymauk, hallo. Are you-”  
“Molly, Mister Caleb, please.” Molly said, shooting the man a grin. “I was simply checking on Jester.”  
“I’m alright, Molly, thank you. I was just…I’m alright, do you want to come get a pastry?”   
“Sounds lovely my dear.” Molly said, opening the door to let Jester out before him. He made sure to shoot a look towards Caleb before he followed Jester outside; the scruffy red haired man was looking down at a book on the counter. A pen was held loosely in his right hand, which he was running down the side of one of the pages the same way Yasha did when looking for something on the stock list. Molly wondered what the man was reading.   
“Bye Caleb!” Jester called back as she left. “He’s so nice.” She said once they were outside. “He wanted me to tell you that the flowers Beau got from Yasha were really nice, said they looked good on the table. Fjord picked a good spot for them.”  
“Oh? Nice of him.”   
“I didn’t even know he had come in! I was so busy I musn’t have seen him, I didn’t think him and Veth ever came in. I hope I haven’t missed them lots, they might think I’m rude.”  
“I’m sure he won’t.” Molly said but the gears in his head were already turning and they continued to turn until he saw the female monk with the half shaved head walking towards the bakery.   
Beau was not impressed when the purple tiefling was suddenly in her way.   
“Oh for- waddya want?”   
“It’s good to see you too, oh grumpy one.”  
“Oddly enough, only when you’re around.”  
“Now, now, I’ve talked to Jester enough to know that that is a lie.” Molly said, grinning at her. “She also said you like…being sneaky.”   
“…Maybe.” She gave as an answer to the not question. “Why do I need to sneaky?”  
“I have a suspicion about…someone.”  
“Who?”  
“Caleb.”  
There was a pause, then. “The book guy?”  
“Yes.” Molly said and fell into a whisper while he explained his suspicions about Caleb and how he’d made a comment that just didn’t feel right. “Come on, just come chat to him with me.”  
“Why do I have to go? Maybe Jester just didn’t seem him go into the bakery, might’ve just looked around and not bought anything. Doesn’t really seem like the guy up for a chat, from what I’ve heard.”  
“I wasn’t planning on it being you that came but everyone else is busy having jobs or something, and I need to make sure there’s a witness that you know, I didn’t attack him or something.”  
“…Why would-”  
“Because if he tells people I did, they’re hardly going to believe me over him.”  
“What the hell are you talking about?”  
Molly raised at an eyebrow at her, truly amazed she didn’t quite get it.  
“It’s almost…pleasing, you don’t understand why people would believe the story of the human over the tiefling.”  
Beau had the courtesy to at least blush at the comment.   
“Sorry just…fine let’s go.”  
The two moved together and were soon inside the bookstore, which was empty apart from Caleb. He was in one of the corner of the store, sorting out books on one of the many shelves.   
“Hallo?” He called out to them, hearing the bell above the door ring. Beau stayed near the door while Molly moved further into the store to talk to Caleb.   
“Hello Mister Caleb, could I trouble you for a second?”  
“Ah, Mollymauk. No bother, go ahead.” Caleb didn’t look at Molly as he spoke.”I am not busy.”  
“Molly, please.” He reminded Caleb. “I was just wondering if you’ve been in to Jester’s bakery yet?”  
“Ah…no. Why do you ask?”  
“…No? Really? I thought you two were good friends.” Beau had to admit, Molly was good at acting.   
“She brings us pastries…she is a little loud but she is nice, I am not sure if she would refer to me as a friend however. We have only spoken briefly.”  
“…You’ve never been in?” Molly asked, getting closer. He could see Frumpkin perched on one of the shelves close by, watching him.  
“Nein.” Caleb said, agitation evident in his tone.   
“Then how did you know about the vase of flowers?”  
Caleb paused at Molly’s question.   
“What-”  
“Jester mentioned you complimenting the flowers, which was kind of you by the way, but if you’ve never been in…”  
“Mollymauk, what are you trying to accuse me of?”  
“I think you’ve been spying. I have an idea of how too, well not so much an idea as much of…a feeling.”  
Molly moved his head slowly and let his eyes settle on Frumpkin, who was backing up into the shelf while he hissed at the purple tiefling. Before Caleb had a chance to move or speak, the moment was interrupted by the sound of the front bell ringing as a customer entered the store. Caleb immediately fell into his friendly customer service mode and was relieved when he saw Mollymauk leave. A woman with half shaved hair, that Caleb didn’t recognise, followed the tiefling out.  
The newest customer ended up purchasing two small books and usually any sale was good news to Caleb, pleased by any money his store made. Today, it was hard to think about anything besides the fact he was almost certain Frumpkin had been figured out. He needed to think of a solution but unfortunately, he could only think of solutions that required money he could never hope to have. He felt defeated. He’d worked so hard to be careful and to keep Frumpkin and Nott safe and now it looked like his efforts may not have been enough. 


	9. Care Package

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb has gone MIA and Jester is freaking out!

**Chapter 9**   
_Care Package_

"-im not sure how I'd get down though...I guess I could jum-"  
"-Jester you are not jumping off of that roof." Fjord said with a sigh.  
"Then how can I get down?"  
"By not going up there in the first place!"  
Fjord was busy helping Jester empty sacks of flour and sugar into their assigned bins in the back of the bakery.   
"But Fjord-"  
"Jester it's nice you're worried but there's probably a reason, maybe he's just sick."  
"Whose sick?" A voice called out from the front. "Morning you two!"  
Molly had become a frequent visitor to the bakery, both for baked goods and to see Jester. It was nice being able to see another tiefling so often. It helped that she was simply a lovely person too.   
"Hi Molly!" Jester called out, dusting her hands off on her apron. They'd emptied the last sacks and had thrown the empty bags into a corner to go to the outside bin later.   
Fjord was already at the counter, filling a cardboard box with Molly's ordered goods, when Jester emerged from the back.   
"Neither of us are sick Molly, don't worry. We don’t even know if anyone is sick. Fjord just doesn't want me to climb a building."  
Molly saw Fjord pause for a moment to breathe and he suspected this has been an ongoing discussion.  
"Jester, just because the shop hasn't been open doesn't mean anything bad has happened."  
"Which shop?" Molly asked.  
"The bookshop!" Jester told him and Molly had to stop his eyebrows from shooting up. "It hasn't been open at all this week and it's already the middle of the week! Caleb and Veth won't even open the door to get their pastries."  
"...Okay but how does that lead to climbing a building?"  
"She wanted to open a window and sneak the pastries in." Fjord explained.   
"I see." Molly paused. "There's lots of reasons he might not be opening Jester, could just be a family matter."  
There was a definite whisper of "thank you" from Fjord as the man handed the box to Molly. The three chatted for a few more minutes before Fjord had to leave for work, so Molly followed him out before cutting across the square to the crystal store, he had to get ready for some readings. He was glad he was so busy, it meant he wouldn't have much time to think about the bookstore man.   
Despite being busy herself, Jester spent much of her day worrying about Caleb. When she was leaving the store after looking up, she saw him. He was holding a plastic shopping bag and was opening the door to the bookstore.  
"Caleb!" She called out but he mustn’t have heard her because he stepped into the bookstore and shut the door behind him. "Oh..."  
Caleb opened the front door the next morning and caught sight of something sitting on the floor outside. The small cardboard box had a piece of paper sticking out of it. When he looked at the piece of paper he saw that something was written on it.  
'Hi Caleb I hope you and Veth are okay' was written on the paper in tidy cursive in light blue ink. He had a suspicion as to who the box and note were from but wasn't sure what was inside, as it was heavier than boxes from Jester usually were.   
"What's that?" Nott asked from where she was sitting on the counter. She was sorting through the new balls of yarn Caleb had found for her.  
"A box." Caleb said. "I think it may be from Jester."   
He set the box down on the counter besides Nott and opened it. He had to blink a few times to make sure what he was seeing was right. The box was piled full of as many different types of pastry as he thought possible. Some were sweet while some were savoury but all were slightly squished, likely for Jester trying to fit as many as she could into the confines of the box  
"That's....wow, that's a lot of food "  
Nott said, staring in awe at the mass of food that had been squished into the box.  
"I shall...make some tea for us. Nott, have you still got some of that wrapping paper?"  
"Yes, lots!"  
"How much of it is free of crinkles?"  
"Some of it. I'll get you some!" She said and scurried off upstairs, with Caleb following after her. He made their teas, which they had with a pastry each, making sure they saved some to have later and even tomorrow. He had been trying to think of something he could give Jester to say thank you without bringing more attention to Frumpkin. He had bought a box of books from another seller, eager to get two books the box contained. The rest would go into the shelves and be priced for barley anything, it was no huge drama if they didn't sell. now though, he knew that one of those books would be perfect for Jester.


	10. Hoping For Help (If We Didn’t Ruin Our Chance)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't going well for Jester, uh oh! Luckily, Caleb might be able to help...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Hope you're enjoying the story so far! Let me know what you think xoxo

**Chapter 10**   
_Hoping For Help (If We Didn’t Ruin Our Chance)_

Fridays at the bakery were always busy, not just from customers but also due to all the prep work Jester had to do for the Saturday morning rush. People would always turn up right at opening to get a coffee and cake or pastry to eat while they walked around the market. It pleased Jester endlessly that people would wait in her bakery for her goods rather than going out to the less busy coffee stalls in the market.   
Fjord and Beau had rocked up around midday to find Jester at the front counter serving a crowd of people.  
"I bet she still has heaps of stuff to do for tomorrow..." Beau said to Fjord who was standing beside her.   
"I bet she does...I'll take over packing orders if you wanna take the money. If we leave Jester on coffee we can clear this place out."  
"Gotcha."  
Fjord and Beau fell into their self assigned places in the cafe, much to the relief of a very grateful and very tired Jester, and got to work serving the crowd of waiting people. It took the better part of half an hour to truly get everyone served and out the door but eventually the rush died down and Jester could get back to getting ready for the next day.   
Fjord and Beau were both silently pleased with themselves for having been able to turn Jesters day around, unaware it would only get worse.  
They had no idea what had happened but the cash register had gotten stuck on a menu screen none of them had seen before.   
"No!" Jester was telling it. "No, no, no! You need to work! We gotta fix it for tomorrow!"   
The shop had closed now, only a few minutes earlier, and they were standing around trying to figure out what to do. Fjord had found the manual for the cash register but couldn't read whatever language it was in. The top of the book read 'Operation Manual - Zemnian' then what he guessed was the same title in zemnian below it.   
'Zemnian? What he hell language even is that? Who the hell speaks zemnian?" He muttered as he pulled his phone out to see if he could find a guide or something online.  
Beau heard the muttering and her frantic search for a common manual came to a stop. She knew that word...oh shit.   
"I think Caleb does." The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them.  
"Shit, really?"  
"I-I mean maybe? I don't know for sure."   
"Oh we need to ask!" Jester said, holding back tears. "He might! It couldn’t hurt to ask right? He won't be mad we’re bothering him so late will he-"  
"Okay, okay. Jes, is there anything else you can do to get ready for tomorrow?" Fjord asked her. He needed to get her thinking about something besides the broken register.  
She gave a nod after a moment of thought. She could get boxes ready...or fold napkins...or...  
"Alright, Beau you stay here and help Jester and I'll go ask Caleb."  
Beau gave a nod and followed after Jester to go help her with whatever she needed help with.   
Fjord left the cafe, and very nearly collided with Molly on his way out.   
"Whoa!" Molly chuckled. "Sorry, Fjord I know the shops closed but was hoping Jester was still in."  
Fjord looked at Molly...then at the massive bunch of flowers he was holding.  
"Uhhh...yeah she's in with Beau. You going on a date or something?"  
"Hmm? Oh! No, no. Yasha had a bunch of extra flowers and asked me to swing by and drop them off for Jester. We figured out Jesters been undercharging us and Yasha thought it be easier to make her take flowers than money."  
"...You know, you night be right. The doors not locked so head in...and, I hate to be a bother but if you've got time to hang out, could you? She's a bit upset at the moment."  
"Sure ,sure, no brother. What's happened? If it's okay for me to know."  
"Cash register is busted and the only manual we have is in Zemnian-" Oh, Molly thought, I've heard of that language before...oh fuck. "-and Beau thinks Caleb might speak it so I'm gonna go ask if he can help."  
"Right...good idea, doesn't hurt to ask does it? I'll keep an eye on the girls for you." Molly three a grin to Fjord before the half-orc rushed off towards the bookstore. Molly let his shoulders sag a little before he opened the door and stepped inside, where he immediately saw Beau sitting at one of the cafe tables, folding napkins. Jester was nowhere in sight.  
"Zemnian, huh?" He asked.  
"We're so fucked." She said, shooting him a quick look. "What if he says no? Nice flowers."  
"Thank you. I'll take the blame, I'm the one who freaked him out."  
"Molly, hi- wow! All those flowers, they're so lovely!" Jester emerged from the back of the bakery.  
"Lovely flowers for a lovely tiefling." He said, holding them out for her to take.   
"What? Why?" She took them carefully and looked over them, sniffing a few different ones. "They're so pretty."  
"Figured out you were undercharging us."  
"Ooohhhhh..."  
"Yasha thought you might like flowers, and it'd be easier than trying to get you to take our money." Molly explained, grinning at Jester as she looked for a vase for the newest bunch of flowers to sit in.  
Fjord tried not to think about Jester and how her eyes had been red from trying not to cry. It wouldn't help her for him to go back, he could help by finding a solution. He gave a quick knock at the bookstore door and heard faint footsteps before it created open. He could see a halfling woman through the gap and he gave her a smile.  
"Sorry, is Caleb in? We need a bit of help."  
The woman gave Fjord a nod and stepped back to let him in.   
"Ja, I am here." Caleb said form where he was sitting on a stool behind the front counter.  
What looked like a logbook was open in front of him.  
"Oh shit, you still working?" Fjord asked. "Sorry we didn't wanna-"  
"It is not important." Caleb said, closing the book. "Is everything alright?"  
"Do you speak zemnian by chance?"  
Well, Caleb hadn't expected that.   
"A-ah...ja, ja I do. Why?"   
"The cash register in the bakery is on the fritz and the only manual we've got is in zemnian. We were hoping you could help...?"  
"Ah...have you got it with you?"  
Oh, fuck, oops.  
"Shit, no I didn't even think...I can go-"  
"Nein, it will be easier for me to come look in person." Caleb said. "Veth, I'll head over and help Jester. Will you be alright here?"  
"Course Caleb, theres not much left to do before I finish up."  
"Ja, good. I will be back soon."  
Caleb grabbed a scarf, this one in varying shades of red and orange, from a hook on the wall behind the counter before getting up and motioning for Fjord to lead the way.  
"It matches me!" Molly was saying, pleased as punch, when he saw the light purple apron hanging in the bakery wall.   
"Isn't it lovely? It was a gift from- Fjord!" Jester cheered when Fjord returned to the cafe, followed by someone. "Caleb!"  
Beau and Molly both risked a quick glance at the man before looking at one another.   
"Ja, hallo Jester. Fjord says you are having troubles with the cash register?"  
"Yes! It was fine all day and now it’s ruined!" Jester said.  
Caleb walked over it the register and slid in behind the counter, looking at the screen of the register and the manual sitting open on the countertop next to it.   
It was strange to flick through a book written in zemnian that wasn't one of his own. He kept his gaze down and focused on the book while he tried to ignore Mollymauks presence in the room.


	11. Gifts and Help; Presents From The Bookman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb is super helpful, and Frumpkin is spookier than first expected.

**Chapter 11**  
_Gifts and Help; Presents From The Bookman_

The group fell into quiet chatter as they helped Jester do odd jobs to get ready for the next day. Sure, they'd be getting home roughly two to threes hours later than normal but it was worth it. Beau was surprised that even Molly stayed to help out.   
"Ah, Jester?" Caleb called from the register, where he'd been busy reading through the manual and playing with the machine.He hadn’t said a word since he’d begun to work on it.  
"Yeah, Caleb?"  
"I've fixed it."  
Jester stared at Caleb, blinking a few times before leaping up from her seat in the floor and rushing over to him.   
"Really?! You're sure?" Jester squished herself up against Caleb so she could see the register screen as well.   
"Ah- Ja, I think so. The internal clock had gone wrong, that is all. Here, I'll show you how to fix it in case it happens again."   
Jester nodded along as Caleb gave a quick demonstration of resetting the internal clock of the register and once Jester had done it herself , he deemed it a successful repair.  
"Oh Caleb, you're the best!" Jester's mood had done a total one eighty back to her usual loud, happy self. While it was a personality Caleb found a little...much, he was glad he could help solve the problem for her.   
"Why you screaming Jes?" Fjord asked. He had been in the stock room making sure that everything Jester would need for the Saturday morning rush was easily accessible. Why the cardboard cups kept ending up on the top shelf, he had no idea.   
"Caleb fixed it!" She cheered. "Cause he's the best!"  
Before anyone could stop her Jester had wrapped her arms around Caleb in a hug that squeezed his arms against his body.   
"Jester!" Fjord said. "Do not break the book man!"  
The pressure enveloping him was suddenly gone and Caleb could breathe again. He could feel his face and how hot it had gotten, sure his skin must be bright red. It had been a...long time since anyone besides Nott had hugged him, he wasn't quite sure how to feel.   
"Jester, you've freaked him out." A voice to the side said, the woman who had been in the bookstore with Mollymauk.   
"It's kinda cute." Mollymauk said, his tailing swishing back and forth slowly behind the seat he had ended up in.   
"...Ew, dude."   
"I, ah...I will leave you all to enjoy the rest of your evening. It is quite late."  
It’s kinda cute. The words echoed through Caleb’s head while he considered how to best leave the store and get back to the safety of the bookstore.  
"Is it? Oh Jester your stupid clock is still broken." The woman grumbled.  
"Close to eight o'clock." Caleb said.   
"...Five to eight, how'd you-" Fjord had pulled his phone from his pocket.  
Caleb had already slipped past Jester and was outside before anyone could call after him. There was a soft drizzle if rain over the square now and Caleb moved quickly to get back inside the bookstore to avoid getting too cold.   
"Caleb!" Someone shouted behind him. He took a quick glance to the side and saw the woman who he had learnt was called Beau and Mollymauk in the reflection of the front display window.   
"Ah, Mollymauk and...friend." He said, looking back to the door as he slid his key into the lock. He wouldn’t use her name, they were already suspicious.  
"Two things." The woman said. "We're not friends."  
"I'm devastated, honestly." Mollymauk deadpanned.  
"And two...we wanted to applogise-"  
"I can not afford to pay you." Caleb said   
"-what?"  
"Why would you be paying us? We just dragged you out to fix a cash register, surely that comes with consultant fees."  
"It is not a difficult task, I was happy to help Jester. I am talking about payment for your silence."  
"Dude you've totally lost us."  
Caleb closed his eyes and rested his head against the front door to his store.   
"About Frumpkin."  
"What about your cat-"  
Caleb glanced up against the window and saw Jester in the background behind her two friends. Not wanting to discuss things further, and definitely not wanting more people to figure anything out, he quickly opened the front door and stepped inside. He heard someone shout his name before the door slammed shut and he was alone in the lower floor of his bookstore. The candles had been blown out already and he new that Nott would be upstairs, probably already asleep. He didn't want to her so he sank to he floor where he store and once his back was resting against the door, he let himself cry.  
Molly and Beau stood outside, staring at the door, bewildered by the conversation.   
"What the fuck?" Beau finally asked.   
"Why would we need to be silent? It's a cat...unless..."  
"Magic cat?" Beau finished the train of thought. "Or someone disguised as a cat, maybe. Magic is all kinds of fucky."  
"What about a cat?" Jester asked. "Caleb sure was in a rush."  
"...I bet he's unregistered." Beau said. "We could get him sent to prison if-"  
"-if what, Beau?" Fjord asked from behind her, revealing that he was there, and Beau knew she was gonna get such a telling off. Hopefully Molly would as well.   
Luckily, he did, just not from Fjord.   
"Molly, you should have have done that." Yasha said. Her arms were crossed over her chest and it was taking all of Beau's concentration not to stare. "You probably scared him."  
"We wanted to apologise!"  
"And he thought he had to pay to make you shut up?" Fjord pressed.  
"Looks that way. Oh, someone's left something at the bakery."  
Molly pointed at the door, where there was indeed something wrapped in pale blue paper sitting on the cobbled floor.   
"What if it's a bomb?” Beau suggested.  
"You two better hope it's not silence money." Fjord warned. He watched Jester scoop the package up before quickly unlocking the bakery door and letting them all inside.   
"Oh, it's for me." Jester said and Beau let out a breath she'd been holding. Jester tore the paper away and inspected what was inside. "It's...a book?"   
"Is it a romance? Maybe Caleb has the ability to know what type of books people read. The secret ability of The Bookman.”  
"It's a recipe book!" Jester said. "It's all about stuff from Nicodranas!"   
"Wow, Jester that's pretty nice of him. How'd he know you're from there?" Fjord asked.  
"He's a spy!" Beau shouted. "He has to be!"   
"He could have just overheard a conversation.” Yasha said. "Oh, what is that?"   
Yasha had noticed Frumpkin through the glass door to the bakery. The cat was sitting up, tailing flicking as it watched them.  
"I knew it!" Beau and Molly shouted together. Neither of them gave any thought to moving after the ca,t they simply did it. Beau was outside first, chasing after Frumpkin, with Molly not far behind her.  
"For shit sake-" Fjord sighed.   
"I will go after them, you stay and help Jester." Yasha said, giving them both a small wave goodbye. Outside, Beau and Molly were already on the other side of the square. Frumpkin was sitting on the top of Yashas booth, looking down at them with disinterest.   
"Please do not climb that stall." Yasha told Beau and Molly. She wasn’t sure about Beau, but Molly would definitely do something like that. "Leave the poor thing alone." She stopped at the booth and raised a hand to Frumpkin, holding a loose fist towards the cat. Frumpkin sniffed at the hand before nudging it with his nose.  
"I've never seen a cat before." She said softly. "They are quite cute. Would you like some help getting down?"  
Frumpkin gave a small lick to Yasha hand before looking at Molly, staring at the tiefling with strange yellow eyes. Then, Frumpkin was gone.   
"What-"  
"Where'd he go?!"  
"Oh...is that a cat thing?"  
"No!" Beau shouted. "He's using a spooky cat to spy on us!"  
"Perhaps you can solve the mystery after the market." Yasha said. "I am late starting to get ready."  
"Oh...I can help if you want!" Beau offered, a little abruptly. “I mean, if you want it. I don’t wanna get in the way.”  
"Thank you, Beau. The help would be appreciated.”  
The three of them got Yasha’s stall ready, with Yasha directing the other two while Beau ignored the smug and slightly curious glances Molly kept throwing her way. 


	12. How Can You Trust So Freely? (How Can I Learn?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb is out in the rain, carrying some very heavy bags but it's okay! Jester can help the scruffy man with the heavy bags. She is pretty strong after all...

**Chapter 12**   
_How Can You Trust So Freely? (How Can I Learn?)_

Saturday morning greeted the market square with heavy rain and fierce winds. The winds had started in the night but the rain hadn’t started until early in the morning, while Jester had been getting ready for work. Her plans to wear one of her many twirly dresses or skirts had been thwarted by the cold, harsh winds so she ended up going for a pair of jeans and a pretty cute t-shirt (as she had described it.) She had found it at a second hand store while shopping with Beau and fell in love with the white cotton button down, that tied at the front in a knot. Of course, all the flowers she had embroidered onto the shirts collar made it even better.   
It was a shame the top was hidden beneath her hoodie. Well, Beau’s hoodie, but since Beau had left it at Jester’s place it pretty much was Jester’s hoodie. Walking through the square from the main street, she saw someone else walking as well. The square wasn’t busy yet, only a handful of people had turned up purely to take down their booths or signage to try and save them. This person wasn’t at a booth, they were walking past the market stalls but staying on the outer edge, and was walking quickly. Jester could see the handfuls of grocery bags they were carrying, and judging by their walk, the bags were heavy.  
“Hello!” She called out as she walk past the bakery and after the struggling person, who she recognized once she was closer. Even from behind, the coat and scarf were a pretty good giveaway. “Oh, Caleb!”  
She followed after him, wanting to catch up, and saw one of the bags slip out of his grasp. Caleb muttered something in zemnian when he felt the handle of the bag slip free. He knew he wouldn’t be able to catch it and was not looking forward to seeing what inside the bag would be broken. Despite his expectation to hear the bag hit the ground and for it’s contents to come spilling out, neither thing happened. Someone had appeared beside him and managed to catch the bag before it hit the ground.  
“Ah, danke- oh, good morning Jester.”   
“Hello Caleb! Would you like some help with your bags?”  
“Nein, it is alright Jester-”  
“Well, I can help with this one!”   
Caleb looked at her and took in the sight of this grinning tiefling clutching one of his grocery bags to her chest, eager to help and it was…nice.  
“Ja, that would be good.” He agreed, and something in his chest pinched when she grinned at him even wider.  
The two of them headed to the bookstore, trying to keep closer to the buildings in the hopes that the small awnings would protect them from the rain, at least a little. The two of them still got fairly damp and were glad to step into the bookstore, which was much drier and warmed by the candles.  
“Oh it’s so nice in here! Much warmer.” Jester said.   
“Your bakery must be warm, ja?”  
“Well yeah but only once the ovens have started. I did a lot baking yesterday, so I don’t have to do much today! I hope…” She watched as he disappeared upstairs with the bags he was holding, then returned a moment later for the one in Jester’s hands.   
“Thank you for the help, Jester. It is very kind.”  
“Well I am pretty strong, so it’s good to use it to help.” She said as she handed him the bag. “Hey…uh, Caleb?”  
Caleb looked back at her from where he was standing on the staircase, a few steps up.   
“Ja? I uh- one moment, I will be right back.” With that he was gone again but returned again and came back down the stairs to Jester. “Is everything alright?”  
“I…uh, wanted to see if you were okay…”  
“…Me?”  
“Yeah, you were closed all those days and I couldn’t get anyone to open the door! Was it Molly? Are you and Veth okay? Did Beau do anything? Because oh boy, she got in so much trouble with Fjord!”  
“Fjord?”   
“He’s the green guy, who asked you to come help.”  
“Ah, ja of course, your half-orc friend. Yes, Veth and myself are alright. I had to go out of town for a business matter without much notice and Veth does not like working the store on her own.”   
“Oh…okay.” She paused. “Caleb…are you spying on us? Because if you are that’s kinda weird but also, how? Like, can you turn invisible or can you like use scrying or-”  
“Jester those are all very…magic based ideas. I am not sure-”  
“Oh, we wouldn’t tell anyone!” She told him. “I can do some magic too, and Fjord wants to do some but we need to get him registered first!”  
Caleb could only look at her, both in confusion and amazement. To trust someone with the information about him and Frumpkin was…terrifying but it would be such a relief, to not have to hide it. He could not reveal Nott, of course, for fear of what would almost definitely happen to her; imprisonment and afterwards, death. That was if she wasn’t killed before she made it to prison.   
“It is…a big thing, to trust someone with something like that, Jester. You do not really know me.”   
“Well, that’s okay, I trust you!”   
Caleb was simply dumbfounded by this. To trust him, someone she barely knew…of course, how could she know how badly she shouldn’t trust him?  
“I…that is kind of you to say Jester. It is…I wish I could do the same, so easily.”   
“It’s alright Caleb, Beau and Molly probably sort of ruined it, yeah?” Caleb nodded. “You’ll see, we’re actually super nice. Beau is just…a little over the top but she’s super nice too.”  
Caleb nodded and after giving Jester another thank you for her help, he waved goodbye to her as she left the store to get over to her bakery.   
Rather than getting straight to work, she sat on the floor and leaned back against the wall with her eyes closed.  
“Traveler, how do you get someone to trust you?” She asked the empty store.   
There was silence, where Jester felt incredibly alone, before the warm breeze blew through the store and eventually settled around Jester.   
Ah, hello Jester. What is troubling you?  
“Well, I made a new friend but…I don’t think he trusts us very much…”  
This is the man with the cat, who Beauregard and Molly have caused some trouble for?  
“Yeah, his name is Caleb and he’s really nice…just kinda shy. I want him to trust us though…”  
Well…why do you trust Beauregard and Fjord?  
“Because they’re super nice and they help me out a lot. Fjord helps everyone though.”  
The two of them help you quite a bit and you have helped them, in return.  
“So…we should help him? How though?”  
You are very smart, my dear Jester. You’ll think of something.  
Jester let herself get lost in opening the store and serving customers. It was good to not think too hard on what she should do, or she knew she’d get lost in thought. By the end of the day, she knew exactly what they could do. 


	13. She’s One To Talk (About Breaking Rules)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jester has an idea for how to help Caleb and Beau is given a new job at work, though only a small one...

**Chapter 13**   
_She’s One To Talk (About Breaking Rules)_

_“A registration?” She’d asked. Surely Jester was kidding.”Jes, we don’t have that kinda money.”_   
_“Not for Caleb, just for Frumpkin!”_   
_“Jes we can’t afford that! I can’t imagine we can anyway, have you even looked at it?”_   
_“I looked it up!” Jester was excited about the idea and was eager to help. Beau and Fjord were apprehensive about spending that sort of money on someone they only sort of knew._   
_“We’ll think of something Jes, I promise.” Fjord had told her but Beau knew the topic would be brought up again._

“…also, that knew guy…Terrence? Absolutely my hero tonight, holy shit can that guy shoot. I know I shouldn’t be telling ya what to do but the guy did really good…Boss?” Beau slowed her words, watching The Gentleman. He was looking at her but…she was fairly sure he wasn’t listening. “Boss, you’re doing that thing where you look like you’re staring through into my soul. What’s wrong? Did we do something wrong on the mission?”  
He blinked slowly then seemed to hear her words. He shook his head and sighed before giving her a gentle smile.   
“My apologies Beauregard. No, no, I’m more than pleased with your work tonight. Yes Terrence, he did well you said? That’s good to hear, I believe he was hoping to get a room at the Pillow Trove with his girlfriend soon…perhaps I’ll look into a way to make that easier for him.” He said.  
“That’s…nice of you, Boss. I can leave if you need, I’m finished for the night now.”  
“Hmm…not yet Beauregard.” He gave a small wave to the large orc man standing near the door to lavish side room that The Gentlemen tended to favour. “Give us a moment, give yourself twenty minutes. Grab a drink.”  
The orc seemed surprised by the order but nodded and left the room, making sure to close the door behind him.  
“Good, some privacy. Now, Beauregard…how do I put this…” Beau did not like the sound of this. “Well, simply put, you’ve become one of my favourites.”  
“Uh, what?”  
“Your friends are lovely as well but you have been…a fantastic addition to the team. Every mission you complete is completed more successfully than I expect and those who work with you give exceptional feedback. Some may not like you as a person, and I’m sure the same could be said for you about them, but they enjoy you as a team member.”   
“Uhh…thanks, Boss.”  
“I have been…distracted today. See, a good friend of mine asked if I would give some work to his two sons. There was some money that was needed to be paid back to this friend, as he helped supply us with some gear a while back. He offered that if I gave them a chance, at least two weeks, he’d ignore the money. The boys don’t need to stay on after the two weeks but…”  
“You don’t wanna get rid of them?” She asked. “Oh wait, do you wanna get them the fuck out of here?”  
“Yes! They’re incredibly childish and rude, I’ve already had to give quite a pay increase to one of the barmaids to apologise for her having to deal with them.”   
“Which barmaid?”  
“Eliza, lovely girl. If we lose her we’d lose one of the best members of our bar staff!”  
Beau liked Eliza; she was gorgeous but she didn’t take shit from the team members, or any visitors. Beau always suspect if Eliza wanted, she could throw people out onto the streets with her own hands. Of course, they had security personnel for that, but Beau always thought Eliza could handle it herself.  
“Oh, I like Eliza. Do you need some help with them?”  
“They have a little over a week left, if you can give me any information, anything about them breaking rules or causing havoc that could lead back to us, you tell me immediately. You’ll be well rewarded, rest assured. I’d fight whichever deity holds this god awful world together, if it means getting rid of them.”  
“Well I’ll keep an eye out for you. What do they look like?”  
“They’re at the betting tables, two young men in their twenties wearing these god awful bright red hoodies. Gods they hurt my eyes.”  
“The boys or the hoodies?” She asked, cocking an eyebrow.  
“Hah! Both, dear Beauregard!” He let out a booming laugh. “Now you go, get some rest! You usually see your friends on a Friday, yes? Enjoy yourself!”  
Beau gave a nod and small wave of farewell before leaving the room. She could easily spy the two red hoodies at the blackjack table in the back corner. The boys were only young, probably near her own age, and looked woefully alike. Blonde hair pulled into a tight bun at the back of their head. One had a ring through his eyebrow and the other had one through the side of his nose. She tucked the memory of what they looked like into the back of her head and left the bar. Jester and Fjord were already waiting outside for her and the group walked together to whichever bar looked good for a drink. They always tended to walk around for a bit before picking somewhere; usually whichever place had already begun happy hour.   
“Ohh! Cocktail night!” Jester cheered when she saw the neat chalk sign.   
“Lead the way Jes.” Fjord said.   
The inside was decorated with brightly coloured velvet couches and lounge seats arranged around small tables for drinks and share plates of snack food to sit on.   
“Ooh a cocktail lounge, good choice Jester.” Beau said, smiling as she soaked in the sweet smelling air of the place. It was a mixture of candy scented perfume, chocolate and heavy alcohol.   
They ended up sitting in a circular booth table, with pink velvet chairs sitting around it. They each had a drink, something fruity and sweet for the girls, with Jester’s being a non-alcoholic version of Beau’s. Fjord had some sort of chocolate cocktail, which looked all kinds of amazing and tooth-achingly sweet.   
“Oh look, a whole table of gorgeous people.” A voice said to their side and when they looked over, Beau ready to tell the person to get fucked (unless they were the pretty french bartender who had served them). Mollymauk slid into the booth besides Beau before she could say anything. “Three of them in fact, I’m being spoilt!”  
“Hello everyone.” Yasha said from where she was standing, watching as Molly made himself comfortable at the table. “Sorry to interrupt.”  
“Don’t be silly!” Jester said. “Sit down Yasha. Fjord move over so we can make room for Yasha.”  
Eventually, the group was sitting comfortable around the booth, enjoying drinks and the large platter of fruit and chocolates they had ordered. Jester was pleased that Molly and Beau weren’t arguing, they weren’t overly friendly to one another, but neither of them were causing any tension. The group was…good. It was a good group of friends but something was…missing.  
“Oh! Beau.” Jester said, remembering. “I was thinking about it today and what if Caleb’s cat is a familiar?”  
“A fuckin’ what?”  
“It’s like a cat but made of magic!”  
“Okay…but the worry is about Caleb not being registered, not what-”  
“You don’t need to be registered to have a familiar!”  
“Wait, what? Why not?”  
“It’s like…not threatening magic? Only certain animals are allowed but just pays for a license and he can have Frumpkin without getting in trouble!”  
“Hmmm, surely he’d need to sign for it though?” Molly considered the idea. “I can’t imagine he’d accept it, anyway. How much is it anyway?”  
“Well…you can either pay month by month, which is twenty gold per month.” Jester said quietly. “Or a lifetime one, which is…like…two hundred gold?”  
“…And that’s cheaper than him registering?” Yasha asked.  
“A full magical user registration is like, over eight hundred gold, depending on what magic you can do or want to do.” Fjord explained, well aware of the cost.   
“Oh.” Yasha said quietly.   
“Well…we can think about it. You need to get him to agree anyway.” Molly said, shrugging.  
They fell back into loud, excited chatter that was partly fueled by deathly sweet cocktails.Eventually, they decided to head off, before it was up left up to Jester to get all of them home.  
“You came back, eh?” A voice sneered behind the group as they walked along the street. They turned around to look at wh was talking; Molly recognised the nasally voice. He was at the back of the group and was an easy target. He didn’t even get to speak before a fist collided with his jaw and knocked him back into the group. Fjord caught him, stopping him from stumbling backwards and hitting the floor.   
“Hey! What’s your problem?” Jester shouted. She pushed past Beau, who was watching the two young men who had followed them.   
“Naw Miss, we already warned him not to come back.” The closest one said. “Freak thinks it’s alright to just come hang out with the rest of us regular folk? Not on our fuckin’ watch. If he comes back again, then it’ll happen again.”  
“Jester.” Beau said. “Let’s go, don’t give them any attention.”  
“But-”   
“Good idea. Keep yourselves out of trouble…we don’t want to get our boss involved, he don’t take kindly to people coming after us.”  
“Good to know. Night fellas.” Fjord said, keeping Molly upright.   
Molly didn’t say anything else besides a ‘goodnight’ when they reached the place he was staying with Yasha. The rest of the group made their way home to sleep. Beau couldn’t sleep, her brain was going at full speed as she thought about the next course of action.   
The idiots had just broken a rule.


	14. Calling In A Favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beau decides to help Molly out with a problem and hopefully out someone else as a result.

**Chapter 14**   
_Calling In A Favor_

“Molly!” Jester called out, waving to the man through the crowd from her table. “Here!”  
Mollymauk saw the wave and headed towards them, finding Beau and Fjord at the table with her.   
“Evening folks, back again already?” He asked as he found a spot on the velvet lounge besides Jester.   
“Might say the same to you.” Fjord said. “You been out long?”  
“Was just about to leave actually.” Molly said. “I think I’ve…hit the sweet spot of drunk enough to love life but also able to get myself home. Yasha is at work til late so I shall have to keep myself company. What kind of company is yet to be decided.”  
“Be careful Molly, alright?” Jester looked at him, her lip shaking. Beau grinned inwardly, pleased with Jesters performance.   
“Course Miss Jester. You three have a good night, alright?” He gave them a wave and blew a kiss to Jester before leaving the cocktail lounge. The group sat and made idle chatter, with Jester mostly talking about Frumpkin, for three minutes, stopping when the timer on Beau’s phone beeped.  
“Right, I’m out.”  
“Call if you need us.” Fjord said, nodding at her before she left the table.   
It didn’t take long to find the two idiots. They were in the street, standing over Molly. The purple tiefling was on his knees on the floor, holding a hand to his side. There was a trickle of blood coming from his nose and Beau could see he was shaking. She approached silently as she pulled out her extendable staff (best gift ever, thanks Fjord).  
“We fucking told you. You didn’t listen, you purple freak. You think you can walk around out here? Naw, think again. We’re not worried, you know, bout you going to anyone. Be a waste of your time.”  
“Not even that lot you were with yesterday, they’re not gonna worry about some freak when facing down with The Gentlemen. You’re nothing here and maybe we need to remind you of that.”   
“Evening boys.” Beau said.   
They spun to look at her but she was much quicker on her feet than they could’ve expected and before either them could react, she struck the one standing on the left over the side of his torso with the staff. She heard a definite crack with the impact and saw his legs buckle, still holding him upright but it wouldn’t take much more to get him onto the ground.  
“Beau?” Molly asked in a pained hiss. “What are you-”  
“You looking after the freak?” The one still standing asked. “Maybe you wanna meet our boss too. He’s not gonna take kindly to you attacking my brother like that.”   
“You know what? Sure.” Beau shoved past them to help Molly up to his feet.  
“What are you doing?” Molly hissed. “Do you have a death wish?”  
“Boy is that question gonna seem silly when you learn about what I do for a living.”  
The two idiots walked along either side of Molly and Beau, directing them to the hideout. Beau was calm, which freaked Molly right the fuck out. Was she unaware of where they were going? The Gentleman was bad news.   
They were fucked, he just knew it.  
The hideaway was…nice, much nicer than Molly expected. He couldn’t spend much time admiring it, with the spinning that was going on his head.   
“What do you two want this time?” Beau heard from just past the main door, followed by a sigh and a “Fine but be fucking quick.”  
She dragged Molly with her, glad they’d at least made it to somewhere where they might get him some help before he passed out.   
“Beau…we’re gonna die.” Molly said with slurred words. “Don’t die for me…you don’t even like me.”  
“Naw, but Jester does.” Beau said. “Good enough for me. Right, be back in a sec.”  
“I’ll keep an eye on him.” Eliza said, pulling a small first aid kit out from under the sink in the bar. “What’s his name?”  
“Mollymauk.” Beau said.   
“Oh alright…” Eliza crouched next to the bench where Beau had laid Molly down.  
“Hello, Mollymauk…I’m Eliza, I’m a friend of Beauregard’s, I’m just going to keep an eye on you for her, okay?”  
“Beau…you’ve left me with someone who has the voice of an angel…you’re a true friend.”  
Beau rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh; even when he was laying across a wooden bench with his eyes jammed shut to stop himself from seeing the world around him spin, he couldn’t stop himself flirting. Beau was almost impressed, if she was honest with herself.  
“Hurry up!” The blonde with the nose ring, the one she’d hit, shouted at her.   
“Coming!” Beau called back cheerfully. “Can’t wait to meet your boss.”  
She followed them into the much larger back office that The Gentlemen used; usually for meetings that he regarded as being serious.   
“What on earth do you two want from me this- Beauregard!” He shouted, his voice immediately switching from annoyed to overjoyed. “My dear woman, how are you? What can I help you with?”  
The looks of confusion on the two boys face was perfection. Beau would remember that forever.   
“Helping you with that problem you were having.” She said and nodded towards the two boys.   
“And…how…are you helping me, exactly?”  
“Boss what are you-” The injured one began to ask but stopped when he was shot a nasty look from The Gentleman; their boss obviously wasn’t pleased by the disturbance.   
“Long or short story?” Beau asked.  
“Well…as my night has already been disturbed and the lovely woman who was keeping me company has left early, I don’t see why I can’t spare some time for a longer telling.”   
“Well, the boys were causing trouble for a gentleman in town-”  
“-he’s a fuckin’ freak!-”  
“Gods your voice is just..ugh, anyway, as I happen to know the gentlemen they were causing trouble for I decided to look into it.”  
“Ah, and this…gentlemen…you are good friends or more acquaintances?”  
“Truth be told, I don’t like him that much but Jester seems to like him a lot. You know what she’s like when she meets new people.”  
“…Hmmm…I see. Yes, she can be quite…a force when she decides she is fond of someone-” A knock came from the door seconds before it swung open and Molly was lead into the room by Eliza. She gave a small nod before patting him on the shoulder and leaving the room again. The door clicked shut behind her and Molly was now standing in the large room with the others.  
“Beau.” Molly said, leaving a lengthy pause. “What the fuck?”  
“Hey Molly, how you feeling?”   
“Oh, marvelous!” A deep voice came from a seat at the other end of the room, where there was a blue skinned man sitting comfortably in a high backed chair made of rich brown leather. “My friend, you are stunning! Beauregard I can see why Jester would take such a liking to him. Molly, is that right? Lovely to meet you Molly.”  
“It’s actually short for…actually just, don’t worry. Nice to meet you…”  
“The Gentleman, as I tend to be called nowadays.”  
“Right…I was worried about that. Beeaaauuuu-”  
“It’s cool, Molly.”  
“…In what way is any of this cool?!”  
“Because these two idiots.” Beau pointed at the two blonde men. “Broke a rule.”  
“We what? Who the fuck do you think you are, bitch?”  
“One of his favourites.” Beau said, pointing with a thumb towards The Gentleman.   
“It’s true. A rule then, Beauregard? Which one?”  
Molly saw the smile on Beau’s face widen.  
“They used your name as a threat.” She said. “To a civilian.”  
If Beau’s wide grin was scary, the one that spread out across The Gentlemans face was something of nightmares. Molly didn’t expect the man to burst into loud, deep laughter and clap his hands together.   
“Splendid! Just perfect! Oh Beauregard, I knew you were one of my favourites for a reason! I can finally get rid of you two! Now fuck off, get out of my building and leave my crew in peace! Your father will be most disappointed he turned down all that gold for you two!”  
Molly was a little startled by the speed the two boys took off at. Judging by their facial expressions, they weren’t keen on sticking around and getting anything more than a shouting at.   
“Beauregard you are heaven sent, I could swear it. Thank gods those two are out of my hair now, and forever if I’m lucky. Will the two of you be able to make it home alright? I could arrange a car if you like.”  
“Nah we’ll be alright, thanks though.” Beau said. “You mentioned something about being rewarded for getting of them though…”  
“So I did! Of course Beau, what would you like? We can work out a gold price easily.”  
“…How about a favour?” Beau asked; she sounded confident but her stomach was flipping at the idea of asking for something from him.   
“What did you have in mind? I will do my best, if it is something I can help with.”  
“What do you know about the Magical Registry Office?”


	15. What Is Missing Doesn’t Want To Be Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beau returns to the bookstore to give something to Caleb but gets an unexpected, and unwelcome, surprise...

**Chapter 15**   
_What Is Missing Doesn’t Want To Be Found_

The bell above the door rang out when the door swung open. Caleb glanced at the door from where he was standing at the counter. A tidy man with dark hair had walked in, his fine suit lit up by the light streaming in from outside. Two men, who were wearing neat suits made of a dark grey fabric were standing outside, backs facing towards the store while they watched the street outside.   
“Good morning, can I help you?” Caleb asked.  
The man walked over, both hands behind his back and it took all of Caleb’s self control not to jump back in panic when a hand was extended towards him.   
“Perhaps.” The man said. There was a piece of paper in the hand he was holding out towards Caleb. The piece of paper had some weight to it, Caleb noticed when he took the sheet of paper to look at it. The paper was free of any marks or fold lines so it was likely newly printed. In the middle of the sheet was a printed portrait  
“I am looking for my daughter.”  
“A-ah, she has gone missing?” Caleb was scanning the picture, memorizing the face that had been printed out. If she had longer hair…no, he shouldn’t be so foolish. The image was strikingly close to Beauregard but he couldn’t be sure…there were some striking differences between the image printed and her in real life. He could tell the man about Beau, the woman with the half shaved head but…he couldn’t be definite about them being the same person. He decided to play it safe.  
“I’m sorry, I am only new to town and have not met many people yet. I am quite good with faces and we haven’t been very busy, I don’t recall her coming through.” He said then had an idea. “Would it alright for me to keep the picture, in case anyone similar comes in?”  
“Yes, that would be perfect.” The suited man said. “The reward for her return is quite substantial. The details are below the picture. I shall leave you to the rest of your day, thank you for for time.”  
Caleb gave the man a small smile and a wave, not reading over the rest of the poster until the man was gone and the door was closed again. In the end, the paper ended up sitting on the shelf beneath the counter. He tried to shove the thought of the poster and the maybe-Beau that stared at him from the paper but it was hard to ignore the writing underneath the image.

MISSING  
REWARD FOR INFORMATION OR LOCATION  
500 GOLD

“Here we are dear Beauregard, I apologise for keeping you waiting.” The Gentleman told her, handing her a sheet of paper with glossy embossed writing that curved across the top of the certificate. “It arrived rather quickly once I followed up after the progress, truly amazing how quick the council can work when people follow up it, isn’t it?”  
She scanned the document, checking over the information printed in the black ink beneath the golden embossing. 

MINOR MAGIC REGISTRATION  
MAGICAL CREATURE - LOW LEVEL  
CALEB WIDOGAST  
THIRD PARTY REGISTRATION

“It’s perfect.”

“Beau, slow down!” Fjord said, rushing to catch up the the monk, who was rushing through the bustling market.   
“Can’t, busy.” She said back with looking. “Gotta see Caleb.”  
“Oh no, not on your own.” He said, already feeling the dread that Beau tended to cause in the pit of his stomach. She didn’t say anything to him. They reached the bookstore and Beau threw the door open; Fjord was relieved no one had been standing near it when it struck a small wooden stool sitting on the floor near the door.  
“Beau!” Fjord shouted but Beau was already inside and approaching Caleb, who was at his usual place sitting behind counter.   
“Beauregard?” Caleb asked, eyes wide in panic. “What-”  
Jester appeared in the doorway with a confused and curious Molly behind her. Both entered the store and closed the door softly once they were inside the warm store.   
“Beau, what are you doing?” Jester asked, her voice soft and a little scared. “What’s going on?”  
“Ah, well, I suppose this saves me looking for you later.” Caleb said and slowly, without taking his eyes off the woman, reached for the piece of paper. “I- ah, I was wondering…what is your last name?”  
“…What?” Beau asked, coming to a stop at the counter. Fjord was just pleased she wasn’t jumping it to get to Caleb. Small blessings, he supposed. Caleb held out a sheet of paper to Beau, who took it with a very un-Beau gentleness. There was a pause and silence while she read the paper, then two things happened.  
Beau slammed the paper onto the countertop, sending the echo of a loud thud through the store.  
Caleb leapt back out of his seat and flattened himself up against the wall behind the counter, eyes wide and focused on Beau.   
“Beau!” Jester shouted. “What did you do that for! You scared Caleb.”  
“Jeezus Beau…” Fjord said, running a hand down his face.  
“Where did you get this?” Beau said, voice low and threatening. “Tell me!”  
“A-a man came in.” Caleb said, swallowing hard. Gods his mouth felt dry. “He said he was…his daughter had gone missing. I couldn’t be…sure it was you…I was going to wait to see you-”  
“His daughter?” Beau whispered. Her own eyes were as wide as Caleb’s and her face was just as haunted as his.   
“Beau…do you think it was your Dad?” Jester asked, gently placing her hands on Beau’s arm. “You’re alright Beau, we’re here. You should stay at my place tonight, just in case.”  
Beau nodded and rested a hand on top of one of Jester’s.  
“Sooo…another question.” Molly said. “Why did we see Fjord, a very concerned looking Fjord by the way, chasing Beau into the bookstore?”  
“Beau said she had to see Caleb.” Fjord said simply.   
“Oh, fuck!” Beau shouted, apparently back into her own mind. She reached into her pants pocket and pulled out the folded piece of paper she had carefully tucked away. “I did too.”  
“…Me?” Caleb had let go of the wall but was still standing back from the counter.   
“I had to give you something.” Beau said, holding the folded square of paper out over the counter. “It’s an apology. If I’m not smiling it’s cause I’m not very good at it.”  
Caleb didn’t step closer but he did reach out and take the paper carefully. He wished he could stop his hand from shaking.  
“You hand writing apologies now, Beau?” Fjord asked, an eyebrow cocked and eyes focused on her.   
“It…it is not…hand written. I- ah, ah…this is…a joke, ja? A funny…funny joke on…the scruffy bookman.” Caleb was mumbling to himself. He’d stepped back and was now leaning against the wall. His eyes were focused on the paper, fingers clutching it tightly and shaking.   
“Beau, that’s not very nice.” Jester scolded.   
“It’s not a joke, Jes. Cut me some slack, come on.”  
“It has to be…this…Veth!” Caleb shouted and they heard footsteps come down the stairs.   
“Caleb? What’s wrong?” The halfling woman appeared and was immediately at his side. “Are you alright?”   
“Beau…what is it?” Fjord asked.   
“Oh, did your work come through?” Molly asked.  
“…Your work- Beau, what did you do?”  
“Veth it is…it is Frumpkin. He…he is allowed. He’s been…how? I didn’t sign anything for you and…gods the money. Do not tell me you paid that to apologise to me.”  
“Naw, all it cost was Molly getting beat up by some little shit heads.” Beau said with a grin.   
“I’m glad I could contribute. I would have preferred the money method of doing it though.”  
“Beau it won’t work though, remember? We looked! Caleb has to sign the forms.” Jester said, remembering how rude the lady at the registry had been.  
“It’s a work registration. Basically says that a third party requires Caleb to be able to have the familiar and has paid the fees that were required. Caleb didn’t have to sign shit.” Beau tried not to be too proud of herself but she felt pretty proud.  
“And if someone follows that chain of command for the third party…?” Fjord asked.  
“They won’t get far.” She said with a shrug. “So…we good?”  
“Ruining the moment, don’t ya think?” Molly asked with a smirk.   
“…So the cat is definitely a familiar?” Fjord asked. “Beau this is…great but if it doesn’t actually apply, it might not be any good.”   
“…Look man, just let me have the moment.” Beau said, rolling her eyes.   
“Fjord…you are allergic to cats, ja?” Caleb asked.   
“Sure am, why?” Fjord asked.  
“Hold out your arms, for a moment.” Caleb instructed. “If that is alright.”  
“…Hey wait, who called you scruffy to your face?” Jester asked. “I told you all not to!”  
Fjord held both of his arms out towards Caleb  
“Nein Jester, none of you said it to my face. Not directly, at least.” Caleb said and snapped his fingers.   
“So you are spying on us!” Beau burst out.   
Caleb snapped his fingers a second time and pointed a finger at Fjord. Frumpkin appeared in Fjord arms but quickly scrambled up his arms and found somewhere more comfortable; this meant the cat was now laying across the half-orc’s shoulders.   
“What the shit?!” Beau shouted, jumping backwards at the cat snapping into reality. “He is a magic cat!”  
“Ja, he is a familiar.” Caleb said. “Not someone turned into a cat.”  
Molly could’ve sworn there was something like a smile tugging at Caleb’s lips with the comment.   
“Jester get it off me!” Fjord told his friend.   
“Nein Jester, it is alright.” Caleb said. “Frumpkin is not technically a real cat, he is…made of magic in a way. You can not be allergic to him, Fjord.”   
The group was silent; they all needed to absorb some things. Fjord reached a hand up to scratch at the cat’s head without thinking and had a brief moment of panic when the cat nudged back at his hand.   
“Frumpkin, do not be rude.” Caleb said, breaking the silence. “Greedy cat.”  
“So…boy, I have a lot of questions.” Beau let her head hang. “So many.”  
“Ja, I know the feeling.” Caleb said. “…You are welcome to stay, if you want to ask some? I can make tea if anyone would like.”  
“Oh, we can go to the bakery!” Jester said. “Well, maybe after I’m finished…I really need to go take down the sign I put up for my break…so maybe tonight after we all close!”  
“Ja…I shall come over later, then.” Caleb said nervously. “Ah…Fjord, will you be around for much longer?”  
“I’ll probably hang out nearby, might help in the bakery. Why?”  
The group left the bookstore, with a very happy Fjord leaving with Frumpkin still laying across his shoulders. Beau spent the rest of the day with Fjord, hanging out in the market area and the bakery. She didn’t say anything about what had happened but later on in the afternoon, on their way to the bakery to see the others, Fjord said something to her.  
“You did good, Beau.”  



	16. Family Issues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group learns about Frumpkin and Caleb learns a little bit about Beauregard. Frumpkin gets some attention.

**Chapter 16**   
_Family Issues_

Fjord and Beau found Jester in the front area of the bakery, sitting at one of the dining tables that was used by people waiting for their coffee orders. Caleb was already there, his hands wrapped around a cup of tea. Veth was sitting in a seat beside him with a pile of yarn sitting on the table in front of her.   
“But think about all the yarn we could get!” She was saying.  
“Ja, but we would also not be very good people.” Caleb said, an eyebrow raised. He was watching her work on another knitting project following the instructions in a book she had found for only a few silver at a thrift store.  
“Well you will have to get your scarves elsewhere then.” She said in an almost pout.   
“I’ve never seen so much yarn at one time.” Beau said, alerting the others to their presence. “Hey.”  
“Ah, hallo Beauregard, Fjord. How has Frumpkin been?”  
“You may have to fight Fjord to get your cat back.” Beau said with a smirk.  
“Beau!” Fjord said, shocked at the comment. “I’m not gonna keep-”  
Caleb snapped his fingers twice and before either Beau or Fjord could blink, Frumpkin was sitting on the table near the pile of yarn. Caleb said nothing but was looking at them both over the rim of his mug as he took a sip.   
“Frumpkin stay out of my yarn.” Veth warned without looking up. “Caleb, don’t tell Frumpkin to play with my yarn.”  
“I would never, Schatz.”  
Veth mumbled something which sounded very close to being ‘liar’ but she kept her eyes on her knitting needles. Fjord noticed that Frumpkin had begun to nudge a string of yarn with his foot, only gently moving the string between his feet.   
“…Did we get spied on with a magical cat?” Beau asked. “Does he listen to you? Cats normally don’t listen to anyone.”   
Fjord and Beau found seats at the table, across from Caleb and Veth. The door opened behind them and Molly entered, Yasha close behind him.   
“Ah hello. Molly said…I could come see Frumpkin.” Yasha said gently. “If that is alright. I will be careful with him.”  
Beau heard the snap of fingers under the table and Frumpkin disappeared from the table. Yasha and Molly made no comment so either they were already aware of this ability or, they couldn’t see the cat past Beau and Fjord.  
“Ja, of course.” Caleb said. “Hold out your hands, I shall pass him to you.”  
Yasha did as she was told and saw Molly watching her, grinning like a madman. There was a snapping sound somewhere in the room and a second later, Frumpkin appeared in her arms.   
“Oh!” She said; even when surprised, she was quiet. Frumpkin squirmed to right himself so he could crawl up and stand across her shoulders. “Oh, I scared him.”  
“Nein, you are tall. He likes to be high up.” Caleb said. “I can not imagine how much more difficult life would be if I could not snap him down from high up places.”   
“Snap?” Yasha asked. Caleb answered by raising his right hand from under the table and wiggling the fingers. “So he is a magical cat?”   
“Ja, that is right.”   
“So you can snap him around the place, what else can he do?” Beau asked, glad that Frumpkin being on Yashas shoulders gave her an excuse to stare at the woman.   
“I…ah…I can see through his eyes.” Caleb knew his voice was shaking, he wished it wasn’t, gods he wished it would stop. “It can be an awkward thing to do as I can not see or hear anything around my own person but I can see and hear what Frumpkin does…and I can tell him where to go.”   
“That is very impressive.” Yasha said. “Can you do other magic?”  
“I can do small tricks…only learners magic, I never had the funds to go for any higher learning.” Caleb said. “I may look into it again one day, if the store does well.”  
“Right…well, before this turns into Beau interrogating Caleb, you said you had some question as well, right?” Fjord asked.   
“Oh, ja. I was simply curious about the man who came into my store. Five hundred gold is a high reward for anybody. You are…someone of importance, Beauregard?”  
“It’s spare change to my family.” Beau said. Her arms were folded across her chest and she was leaning back in her seat. “It’s not so much my importance as a person but rather them trying to prove a point.”  
“Which is?”  
“That I can’t hide from them.”   
“Ah so you…ran away? Tried to disappear?”  
“I keep running away, keep trying to disappear and each and every time I find somewhere new, they turn up. He’s never turned up in person before…I wonder what changed.”   
“Could it be work? You said he used to travel for work a lot.”   
“Maybe…he hasn’t traveled for the winery much the last few years, usually only when they want to set up a new store.”  
“…Winery?” Molly asked. “I’m fairly sure we saw a sign for a winery opening up just outside the city, probably want that wide open country feel but with the convenience of being next to a city. Good tourism numbers in summer, if the bars are anything to go by.”   
“We did yes, you wanted me to take a photo of the logo for you but my phone was dead.” Yasha said.   
“What was the logo?” Beau asked.   
“Uhh…a big lion, I think.” Molly said, trying to remember. “Definitely some kinda cat.”  
“Fuuuuuck.” Beau groaned. “Why can’t they just…fuck off? Give me two years in one place, at least.”   
“Beau, we’re not gonna let em run you outta town.” Fjord told her. “Stop worryin’ about em, you got us this time.”   
“I had people in the last town and I’m fairly sure they ended up dead. I don’t want that happening to you guys.”  
“Veth it has nearly been an hour, we should head back.” Caleb said, starting to get up from his seat. “We are not…ah, really built for fighting but if you need other help, you can ask us. We will do what we can.”  
Veth climbed from her own seat and packed her yarn into a plastic bag, which Caleb took from her hands once it was ready.  
“Caleb, I can carry my own things.”  
“Ja but you do not need to, come on Schatz.” Caleb said, giving her a smile. “It was ah…good, to see you all. I can leave Frumpkin here for a little while, he will enjoy the attention.”  
Veth left first and Caleb stopped, halfway out of the store. He turned back to look at the group.  
“Ah Mollymauk, Frumpkin had asked me to say thank you for the cushion. He was rather appreciative of it.”   
Caleb left the store after that, letting the door close after him as he caught up to Veth outside and the two headed back to the bookstore.   
“They all seem nice.” Nott said once they were laying on their bed upstairs. Her Veth disguise had disappeared shortly after they arrived back home. “Could we see them some more?”   
“Ja, I do not see why not.”  
The two fell asleep together, with Nott curled up besides Caleb. It was a peaceful sleep, with Caleb feeling more rested upon waking than he had in months. It was a strange feeling but it was a pleasant one. It was good to see Nott, or Veth, getting to hang out with other people. He would deal with his own issues in the privacy of his own mind if it meant she got to enjoy herself. 


	17. Rescue Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group heads out on a mission; Beau is gone and they need to find her.

**Chapter 17**   
_Rescue Mission_

“Knock louder!” Molly hissed at Jester.  
“If I knock any harder the door will break!” Jester whispered. “Oh Caleb…wake up, come on!”   
Lights flickered on in the store front, finally, and they could hear footsteps heading towards the door. It was Veth, not Caleb, who opened the door to see who was there.  
“What do- oh, it’s you guys. You know it’s like four in the morning, right?” She asked.  
“Is Caleb awake?” Jester asked. “We-we need help…Beau’s gone missing, we can’t find her anywhere and she won’t answer her phone.”  
“Veth, who is it?” Caleb called out from within the store before appearing beside her. “It is very early.”  
“Beau’s gone missing.” Veth explained. “They can’t find her-”  
“She won’t answer her phone!”  
“How long since you have spoken to her?” Caleb asked.  
“Two days.” Fjord said, joining the group, having come from The Evening Nip. “No one at her work has seen her, apparently she was meant to lead a job yesterday and didn’t show up to the meeting point.”  
“Oh man…this is really bad you guys…our last plan was that she was at work and couldn’t contact us.” Jester’s lip was shaking and Caleb couldn’t stand to look at it. “What do we do now?”  
“You have checked her place of residence?” Caleb asked.  
“Yep, no sign of her.” Fjord said. “I’ve got a key, stopped there before checking out her work.”  
“Well then…you must run through other places she can be linked to, or people. Can you think of anyone who might be involved?”  
“…Her dad.” Jester whispered. “Oh no…you don’t think he would’ve actually done something, do you? None of us have seen him in town after he came to the bookstore, we thought may he’d gone back home.”   
“Then we go check that winery.” Molly said. “I’ll message Yasha, she can meet us nearby.”   
“Let us get ready, we’ll come along.” Veth said and disappeared back into the store, leaving a very confused Caleb standing there.  
“Was? We will?” He asked. Veth returned and handed him the red toned scarf he had seemed to prefer over the others she had made so far.   
“Yes, we will.” Veth said. “Frumpkin will be able to get near the winery without being seen better than anyone else.”  
“I…you are right, of course, but not as a cat.” Caleb looked at the group and let his eyes settle on Fjord rather than Jester, who was on the verge of tears. “We shall catch up to you, I will…need to get Frumpkin ready before we depart.”   
“Where do we all meet up?” Fjord asked.   
“There’s a group of trees near the winery, where the forest starts. It’s set back from the main road, there’s a really long driveway that goes up to it. It backs up onto the forest, so maybe if we meet near the start of the driveway?” Molly offered.   
“Right.” Fjord said. “No one uses any lights, not even phones, once we get there. The roads aren’t well lit so any light we make will stand out pretty easily. You’re both sure about coming along?”  
“Yes.” Veth said before Caleb could answer. “Caleb, you don’t have to come along if you don’t like the idea of it. I’ll take Frumpkin with me.”  
“And let you go out into danger on your own? Nein, I don’t think so.” He said sternly. “Besides, it will be much easier to search for her if I can go into Frumpkin. I need to be closer in order to do that. We shall meet you all there.”  
The group agreed and after making sure everyone knew where to meet, they parted ways. Molly messaged Yasha as soon as they were walking.

  
OhGreatOne: Yasha dear, are you awake?  
OhGreatOne: If you aren’t you need to wake the fuck up  
QueenofGoths: Yes Molly I am awake  
QueenofGoths: What is wrong  
OhGreatOne: Beau has gone missing  
OhGreatOne: I’m with Fjord and Jester, we’re going to check out that winery  
QueenofGoths: I will get ready, tell me where to meet you

“Yasha’s in.” Molly told Fjord and Jester.  
“Least we’ll have back up.” Fjord said. “Though I’m really hoping no one gets hurt in this.”  
“Let’s worry about the humans first, yeah?”  
Fjord nodded and the three continued in tense silence to the meeting point. They arrived first, with Yasha arriving a few minutes later. Caleb and Veth arrived five minutes after Yasha.  
“Sorry we are late.” Caleb said. “I was preparing some things.”  
“No worries.” Fjord said. “What’s the plan to scout the place out?”  
“Frumpkin is following us, once we are in a better place I will send him over. I’d like if we could get some more cover first.”  
“Into the forest it is then.” Fjord said and the group moved, with fjord in front, into the forest. They followed around the large stone fence that surrounded the winery and ended up at the back portion of the fence, at the back of the winery. The trees were thick and dense but the grass wasn’t as long as they had expected so moving through the trees didn’t take as long as Fjord thought it might.   
“Forest ain’t as bad as I thought.” He said aloud.   
“They keep it tidy.” Veth said. “Makes it easier to scout through for goblins and stuff.”  
“Goblins?” Jester gasped. “I’ve never seen a goblin before.”   
“I have.” Veth said, voice low and sad. “They’re awful things.”  
“This will do.” Caleb said suddenly, stopping just at the edge of the trees. “A few steps back I think but this will do. I will need…someone to keep me upright.”  
“Got it.” Molly said, moving up next to Caleb and letting the man place a hand on his shoulder.   
“I won’t be able to hear or see any of you. If you need me back, tap my hand three times.”   
“Gotcha boss.” Molly said. He felt Caleb’s hand tighten on his shoulder for a second, before the mans body went stiff. There were a few seconds of quiet before something dropped from the trees just behind them and gave a loud squawk before shooting off into the air, flying between Fjord and Jester.   
“What the hell-”  
“It’s a bird!” Jester gasped, watching the bird disappear up and over the stone wall.   
“Yep, it’s Frumpkin.” Veth said.  
“Caleb can make Frumpkin into a bird?” Molly asked.  
“Yes, he’s very smart.”   
“…Sure is.” Molly said, a little impressed by Caleb, and how Veth seemed to be so…proud of the man.  
They waited, listening out for anyone who might have approached them from the forest.  
“There are two people leaving.” Caleb said suddenly. “Young, blonde…one has a piercing in his nose. I can’t see the other one as clearly.”  
Molly let out a gasp, as did Yasha.  
“I betcha it was those two kids she got in trouble with her boss.” Molly said. “Shit…they must’ve recognise-”  
“I will check the building.” Caleb said and the group went back to silence.   
Veth was getting ansty, moving closer to the edge of the trees to look out for the bird. Soon enough, the small white bird landed on the top of the wall and looked at her.   
“I have found her.” Caleb said. “Veth, I will lead you to her.”  
Veth darted from the trees before she could be stopped. She was halfway to the wall when her form shifted and she disappeared from sight. The bird flapped its wings a few times before leaving the wall again and flying high over the building, with Nott below, following along. Frumpkin eventually landed on the window sill of a first story window, where Nott could look inside easily without having to climb up.  
Beau was in the room, laying on the wooden floor, there was blood on the floor as well as Beau’s hands and face. It always took so much longer when Nott had to be careful with a lock but this time she couldn’t be found, it would ruin the plan.   
“Okay Caleb, I’m in.” She said when the window clicked open and she was able to slide it open. “You guys be safe.”  
Frumpkin flapped his wings and left, returning to the stone wall so that he could stay up somewhere safe for when Caleb would return to his own body.  
Nott climbed up slowly and quietly, carefully pulling herself into the room through the open window.   
“Beau?” She whispered. “Beau, can you hear me?”  
Beau groaned and rolled herself towards the voice but she couldn’t see anyone.  
“Oh good, you’re awake.” A voice said from somewhere in front of her.  
“…What the hell?” she asked, groaning and wincing at the pain in her head.   
“It’s Veth…I’m invisible.”   
“…Huh. Alright.”  
“Can you walk? I’ve got the window open.” She asked.   
“We’ll…give it a go.” Beau said. She had to bite her lip to stop herself making too much noise when her movement caused pain to shoot out from her ribcage.   
Caleb was back to his normal self and was watching the wall with the others. They ended up deciding trying to move, to see if there would be a better angle to see from. They found a fallen tree they were able to pull themselves onto, with Jester helping Caleb up. The tree had fallen and landed against another, causing it to sit at an angle. Once on the higher end of the tree trunk they could see over the wall.   
“We’re out.” Nott’s voice filled Caleb’s head. “I’ve got Beau. She’s hurt, can’t move quickly. Not sure how long until that room gets checked.”  
“Veth has her.” Caleb told the others.  
“What!? How do you know?” Jester asked.  
“I ah…taught Veth some simple magic, like sending messages to one another. Beau can not move very quickly, she is injured.”  
“Oh man…we need to like distract the guards or whoever is in there…what if they find out she’s gone?”  
Caleb pulled the thin wire from his pocket and held it to his lips.  
“Veth, would a distraction help? It may stop anyone checking on Beau, or at least cause some confusion.”   
There was a moment of silence where Caleb waited for a response.   
“Beau keeps talking about wanting to damage the building. She really hates this place. Could you guys do something like that?”  
“We could…think of something but I do not want to injure anyone.”  
A pause then the voice of a very panicked Nott.  
“Someone is shouting, we can’t run very quickly. Beau said the storage building would be empty, it’s the big round one! We’re nearly at the wall!”  
“Caleb…you alright? You look…” Fjord saw the look on Caleb’s face; like he’d seen a ghost.  
“They may have been discovered…we need a distraction.”   
“What? What can we do!? We’re on the other side of the wall!” Molly shouted.  
Caleb knew what they could do but that was…another level of trust. Letting them see that.   
“We can’t do anything from a far…nothing that would cause enough damage to distract anyone.” Fjord said. “Jester, you got anything?”  
“I-I don’t know!”  
“Fjord, Jester.” Caleb said. “I need to know…if Veth is found…is she in danger?”   
“I…I…” Jester was trying to speak. “I don’t know Caleb…I think maybe she would be. Beau’s dad is pretty scary…he’s hurt Beau a lot before.”   
“…Okay.” Caleb said and fell silent again. He’d moved a little higher up the trunk but so had Jester and Fjord. “I have an idea.”  
“Oh, really?!” Jester shouted, turning her head away from the wall to look back at Caleb just as something bright and hot flew past between her and Fjord, who was still looking ahead at the building. Two figures were moving towards the wall, near where they had originally been waiting.   
“The fuck was that-”  
Molly’s words were cut off the the tremendous boom that came from the fireball colliding with the wood and stone structure that Caleb had been told about. Lights in the main winery building flicked on, each room of the place lighting up, apart from one. People began to spill from the building and head to the blaze that had begun to consume the round building. It was…something else, to see this blaze billowing around the building in the pitch darkness that surrounded the rest of the walled property. Molly, Jjord and Jester looked at Caleb but the man had already climbed down from the tree trnk and was moving quickly towards where he knew they had been earlier.   
They were already there, dropping down to the ground on the outside of the wall. Beau was already on the ground, leaning against the wall with one arm, while her other was clutching her ribs. Beau saw Caleb approaching, fast.  
“Nott?!” He shouted at them. Finally, the other figure dropped from the wall and turned around just as Caleb reached them. Caleb was on his knees and had his arms wrapped around the small figure before Beau could say anything, or even ask what that fucking explosion had been. She had a lot of questions, again. The most pressing one was; where the fuck did this goblin come from?


	18. Do You Feel Safe Here? (With These Friends We’ve Made)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beau ain't doing too great, but that's okay because Caleb ain't doing much better!

**Chapter 19**   
_Do You Feel Safe Here? (With These Friends We’ve Made)_

Caleb could hear footsteps and talking nearby but he couldn’t take his eyes off of Nott, who had wrapped her small arms around his shoulders.   
“I’m alright.” She said. “We’re fine.”   
“Scheisse Nott…I was so worried.” He said, keeping his arms tight around her. “That could have been bad.”  
“There…might be a problem.” Nott said softly.  
“We will figure it out.” He said. “I’ll figure it out.”  
“She saw me…Beau saw me.”   
“…Ah, that is a problem.”   
“Beau!” Jester shouted now that she had arrived and seen the state Beau was in. “Oh my gosh, Beau!”  
“Gods almighty woman, sit down.” Molly ordered, grabbing Beau’s shoulders and getting her to sit down, her back leaning against the wall so that Jester could get to work healing her. “Yasha, come sit with Beau, stop her getting up.”  
“Okay.” Yasha said before sitting down besides Beau, her own back against the wall. “It will be alright Beau, Jester said she will look after you.”  
“Can I ask a question while she does it?” Beau slurred, her injuries and the sudden lack of adrenaline finally getting the best of her.   
“Of course.” Yasha said gently.   
“…I have a lot of questions.”  
“Start with one, for now.”   
“…What exploded?”  
“Oh thank fucking god.” Fjord said with a sigh. “I am so glad you asked that first.”  
“…That was you guys right?”  
“It was one of us.” Molly said, eyes on Caleb. The man had his back to them, arms wrapped around Veth. Caleb was still, his body stiff, as if waiting for something to happen.   
“Another question.” Beau said. “Why’s Veth look like a goblin?”  
Silence.  
Caleb heard the question and the silence that followed it. Someone walked over to him, he could hear their footsteps behind him as they approached.  
“Caleb…” It was Jester. “Are you…I’m all done with Beau for now, do you need any healing at all? Or…does Veth?”  
"We are both alive." Caleb said without looking at Jester.  
"Yah and being in the verge of death is technically still alive as well, so that's a poor answer." She said aiming for humour and missing. Caleb only curled around Veth even more than he already had been.   
"Caleb...you don't need to worry about anything. We just want know you're okay."  
...Ja, we are okay. She is not injured and I am...fine."  
"You're...not...burnt?"  
"Why would Caleb be burnt?" Beau shouted. "I wanna know what's going on!"  
"You're barely conscious, chill out. You'll get answers." Fjord said with a tone of voice like that of a tired dad.   
"But nooooow." Beau whined against Yashas shoulder. She had slowly leant to the side until she was resting on Yasha, not really meaning to have done so, and Yasha hadn't moved her.   
"Beau we need to be careful." Yasha said. "We make sure everyone is okay then we will get questions. If you have not passed out."  
"If I pass out...you guys gotta wait for me to wake up before questions."  
"...Fine, sure." Fjord agreed. "But maybe not here, of all places. We should move back towards the city, home if we can manage it."   
"You are bleeding." Caleb said to Nott in a hushed panic. "You said you were okay. What happened?"  
"Oh I caught it coming down the wall. It didn't hurt it's just bleeding...oh wow, it's bled more than I thought it would."  
'Scheisse, you will send me grey haired with worry one day."  
"I'll try to delay that happening, promise. Should we...should Jester look at it?"  
"I...it is up to you, Schatz...if you feel safe then you can." Because I sure don’t, Caleb thought to himself. “But…perhaps not here, that is a good point. We are exposed here.”  
“Where do we go then?” Fjord asked.  
“The bookstore.” Caleb said as he got to his feet, scooping the small woman up in his arms and holding her to his side.   
“Yasha…ask him.” Beau grumbled. “You said you would…”  
“Very well.” Yasha said, shaking her head softly. “Caleb, Beau wants to know if you have any booze.”  
“Ja…though it is not mine to share.” He said. “I shall ask once we are back.”   
There was weak “sweet” whispered from Beau, who was gently lifted up by Yasha. The group headed back to the main road, staying close to any tree cover that they could until they were out of sight of the winery. They followed along the main road in silence, with Caleb at the front of the group. They had just entered the city again when a white bird fluttered overhead and came in to land on Calebs shoulder.   
“Ah, hallo Frumpkin. You did very well tonight, thank you.” Caleb said. “We shall have to get you changed back as soon as we can…I’m sure we can spare the gold for the materials. You are worth it, my friend.”  
Nobody else spoke but Molly decided then that no matter what those materials would cost, he felt like it was good guess that the others and himself would help Caleb to get the materials.  
God knows the man deserved it. 


	19. I Think We're Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group gets some rest and some questions are asked and hopefully, they get answered...

**Chapter 19**   
_I Think We’re Good_

Yasha had set Beau down on the bed in the corner of the bookstores upper area at Caleb’s direction. He set Nott down on the sagging couch they had kept for a number of years, despite neither of them liking it; it was the true Nott as well. No illusions this time.   
It terrified him.  
“So ah…to answer a question.” Caleb said then glanced at Beau, who hugging his pillow to her chest but was at least conscious. “Ah, you are still awake. Well…to explain it simply…Veth looks like a goblin because she is a goblin.”  
Fjord was the one to break the silence, eyes on Jester as she made her way over to Veth to check on her injuries.  
“Is she okay to be in the city?” He asked. “Like, will she be okay to be out and about or is the…I’m gonna guess it’s a magic disguise, is that enough? We could probably round up something else if need be.”  
Caleb had expected more…anger, or frantic yelling. He had not expected to be questioned if Nott was safe.   
“She is alright. The spell does not last long so it can be…difficult to keep up appearances but it can be done.”  
“…Am I like…hallucinating?” Beau mumbled. “…Veth is actually a goblin? I’m not imagining things right?”  
“It would seem you are correct.” Yasha said. “I am surprised you are still awake.”  
“I’m stubborn…I guess.” Beau said, wincing and reaching up to rub at her head. “I’m also pissed. I know it was those fucking a-holes that turned me in. I saw them at the house. They didn’t even know! They just thought I looked similar enough and tried it out. They’re meant to go back to the house when Dad’s back in town…which will probably be sooner than he had been planning…since you know…you guys set the place on fire, which no one has explained yet!”  
“It was Caleb!” Jester cheered. Caleb froze where he was in the small kitchenette, hand clutching the kettle as if it would protect him from the questions that would follow Jester’s statement. “It was so hot! Not Caleb though, the fire ball I mean! Not that Caleb isn’t- oh I give up.”  
“He is handsome.” Nott said, clutching her mug of tea to her chest. Caleb had made her tea first; she was the priority here, though he would never voice it. “And very smart, and he’s really good at finding nice yarn at the thrift store!”  
“You sound like his mother.” Molly said, smiling at the little goblin. “It’s…odd but sweet.”  
“See Caleb, I’m sweet!” She cheered, poking her tongue out at Caleb.   
Caleb had managed to pull his mind out of the void it tended to drift into when people discussed things he wanted to avoid, such as him setting buildings on fire. It was how Nott spoke about him that helped him to pull himself back, not that he agreed with her, he never could…he just didn’t want to make her worry about him. She had been injured, she didn’t need to spend any energy worrying herself silly over him, not right now.  
“Ja, I am aware.” He said, moving back to the rest of the group with a tray of mugs and a teapot he’d readied with hot water and loose tea. There was a small jug of milk on the tray as well, a small orange jug that Nott had found for Caleb one day.   
Nott had come home one day, bruised and bloody, after having been found by guards in the small town they had been staying in. The jug had a crack along the handle and had been thrown out so Nott figured it was okay to take…and it would have been if she hadn’t been seen.   
_“Look though, it’s the same colour as Frumpkin!”_  
 _“Ja, but look at you schatz. You should not risk yourself for me, or my cat, I do not want to see you hurt.”_  
 _“It was worth it.”_  
Worth it, Caleb had thought at the time, I’m not worth this.  
“Jester…are you trying to tell me your bookman lit my dad’s winery on fire?” Beau asked, voice slurred but determined. “I’m injured, not an idiot.”  
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you!” Jester huffed, hands sitting on her hips.   
“No one is explaining how he set it on fire!” Beau huffed back.  
“He threw it!”  
“Threw what?!”  
“The fire!”  
The others watched the argument, amused by the girls and a little concerned someone was going to start throwing punches.   
“Caleb did you make yourself a tea?” Nott asked.   
“I will, schatz, do not worry.”  
“Well I’m worrying! You should sit down and rest.”  
Caleb raised an eyebrow at Nott, who was staring at him with her large yellow eyes.   
“I will go set up the thread then come and have a tea, ja?”  
“No you gotta tell me about the fire!” Beau argued from her place on the bed.   
“Ja, I will.” Caleb said. “Later.”  
Caleb left the upstairs area, listening to Beau’s faint protests to him not telling her right away, and headed to the downstairs office to get his silver thread. It was always a relaxing task, stringing up the silver thread, and one that always made him feel he had done something useful with his time. Once the thread was in place, covering all downstairs windows and the door, Caleb felt calmer. He did not expect the feeling of calm to last very long, as he had a group of people upstairs wanting answers, so he let himself have a few minutes alone downstairs in the dark store space. He made sure to grab the bottle of whiskey he kept in the office before heading back upstairs; he did not own many whiskey glasses, only the two. He wondered if the group would be opposed to sharing from the bottle; he doubted it would stop Beau from getting her drink. She would likely still try and fight anyone who kept the booze from her, never mind her current state.  
The thought of Beau, injured and near unconsciousness, fighting people away from the bottle of whiskey made him smile on his way back upstairs.   
“Dude, you can smile?” Beau asked loudly from the bed. She had been wrapped up in the blanket that Caleb kept on the bed, and looked rather comfortable.   
“Beau-”  
“Ja, I was thinking about you for a second Beauregard.” Caleb said, cutting off Jester. “Ah well, your response to something anyway.” He held up the bottle of whiskey for the group to see and was marveled at how wide Beau’s eyes could get. “I do only have two whiskey glasses, however-”  
“I don’t care, gimme it!” Beau said, making grabby hands towards Caleb.   
“…I do not think I want to approach you while holding it. For my own safety.” Caleb said. He had to hold back a smile at the face she made, which was quickly replaced by joy when Caleb walked over and held the bottle out towards her. “Only a small sip, you are still recovering. Ja?”  
“Sure sure, whatever.” Beau took the bottle eagerly, not noticing how Caleb rolled his eyes at her. He made his way over to Nott, who had an empty chair on one side of her and Yasha sitting on the floor in front of her.   
“Caleb! Did you get the string set up?” She asked, focusing on her needles and yarn that were sitting in her small lap.  
“Ja, all done.”  
“Good, drink your tea.” She said, not voicing any words to get him to sit down but he knew she wanted it. There was a mug of tea on the chair beside her, which he picked up before sitting in the chair and watching her work on her project.   
"What are you making, shcatz?"  
"I'm making a hat for Yasha." Nott answered, flashing a smile to Caleb. "She likes that weird sparkley yarn we found."  
"Ah, the grey and silver? That is good, you have wanted to use it."  
"She wouldn't make Yasha a scarf." Molly said, tail whipping behind him when Fjord handed him the bottle of whiskey after having taken a sip for himself. "Said it was 'calebs thing'."   
Caleb leaned back in his seat and kept his eyes on Nott, who wouldn't look up from her knitting.  
"Well it's true." She said quietly. "I make scarves for Caleb and he wears them."  
"Ja, I do." Caleb agreed. "You make good scarves. You still have not made one for Frumpkin though."  
"He'd just eat it." Nott said, looking up to glare at the white bird that was now sitting on Jesters knee.  
"So...the bird is definitely Frumpkin?" Beau asked.   
"Ja, my cat is a bird now."  
"...For how long?"  
"Ah, until I can change him back. I will need to check if I have the materials needed for the spell. He did a good job though, ja?"  
Frumpkin flapped his wings a few times,as if pleased by the acknowledgment of what he had done.   
"Sure was handy." Fjord said with a nod. "Glad you two came along to help."  
"Speaking of-"  
"Nott, may I use one of your candles?" Caleb asked, cutting Beau off. He had a good idea what she was going to ask about.   
Fire, its what his life always circled back to, no matter how hard he tried to avoid it.  
"Sure Caleb, there should be some up here I didn't need."   
Caleb got up from his seat, ignoring the stiffness in his arms and legs, and went in search of the candles Nott would have hidden somewhere strange. Luckily, they were only in a box near the kitchenette so he didn't have to search for long.   
"Ah, Beauregard, could you hold this for me? On an angle, towards me."  
Beau nodded, gripping the candle with both hands and focusing on sitting upright.   
"...Beauregard, are you alright? I do not want you to drop it "  
"No I got this." She said, her entire person focused on keeping that candle in her fucking hands.   
"Ja, very well. Nott where are your matches?" He asked.   
"Downstairs, I think. Do you need me to go get them?"  
"Nein, I will be alright." Caleb said, reaching out for the candle.  
"Why am I holding this fucki-" A flash of light came from Caleb's open palm, where a small flame had appeared beneath the wick of the candle. "Caleb what the fuck- ah, fuck!"  
Calebs trick had startled Beau enough that she had jumped and lost her grip on the candle, which dropped onto the ground and rolled towards Yasha. Beau tried to leap from the bed in a panic, wanting to catch the candle but was caught by Fjord before she was able to get free of the blanket.   
"Fjord the candle!"  
"It's already on the ground, Beau."  
"Aw fuck...I'm really sorry Caleb. I'm not trying to burn your bookstore down."  
Yasha held the still burning candle out to Caleb, who took it with a hushed 'danke'.  
"The candles are...they were a gift for...Nott, to have downstairs. As a safety measure they were made so that the flames could not jump from the wick."  
"...Wait, were you just fucking with me?" Beau asked, too dumbfounded to be mad.  
"Ja." Caleb said.  
"So you can make fire?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "In your hand. With magic."  
"Ah...ja, that is correct."  
"...So how did that get to the building?!"  
"He threw it!" Jester said, jumping into the conversation. "It was like a big ball! It was super cool Beau."  
"That's like...I don't think you guys really get it but that's like war-mage level shit."  
"Ahhh not technically, as I did not finish my training."  
“What training?”  
“Ah well…I had, at one point in my life, been training with the Cerberus Assembly.”  
Beau’s eyes were fixed on him and the hyper focus in her gaze made him restless, made him want to run and hide. He couldn’t do that now, unless he took Nott with him and she seemed so…happy, with these people. Caleb couldn’t take her away from that, as much he wanted to run and hide away from these people. Why couldn’t he stop himself from telling them everything?   
“Are you trying to tell me that you, the Bookman, trained with Cerberus?” Beau asked. “I’m trying not to be rude but dude…you don’t seem the type.”  
“Ah, ja, perhaps that is why I did not finish the training.” Caleb said with a shrug. “That…it is my past and I try to…forget it. It was not quite how I imagined it would be. How they had presented the opportunity to me…was quite different from the reality.”  
“Well, I think I can speak for all of us that we don’t want to intrude on your privacy, past or not, any more than we have.” Fjord said, jumping into the conversation before anyone else could question Caleb further. “Once Beau is in a better state, we’ll take her home and Jester can keep an eye on her. You’ve…done more than we could’ve asked of you today, so thank-”  
“Please do not thank me.” Caleb said. “I do not…know if I would have gone to such lengths if Nott hadn’t been out there. It was…the action was not quite as…altruistic as you might think.”  
“Nott?” Jester asked.  
“Ah, ja, that is Veth’s…name, Veth is for when she is in her halfling form around the shop. A cover name, if you like.”  
“Oohh!” Jester nodded. “Okay! No problem, we can manage two names! We’re very smart.”  
“Ja, I can see that.” Caleb said with a nod. “You can all rest before you head off, if you need. You should not travel until you are ready to do so.”  
The others nodded in agreeance; by the time they were ready to leave, Beau had finally passed out and was carried downstairs by Jester. If the taxi driver had any questions about the passed out Beau that Jester place into the back seat; they were quieted by the large tip Fjord gave the man. Nott had scrawled Calebs phone number onto a piece of paper and shoved it into Fjords hands with the order ‘you text him when you all get home, got it?’. Fjord had nodded and promised to let them know once everyone was back home and safe.  
Nott was pleased when Caleb informed her later on that he had received a text from Fjord saying that everyone was home and safe, and to say thank you once again.   
“Shall I tell them that you are rather fond of Beauregard?” Caleb asked, tone teasing and smug.  
“Don’t you fucking dare.” She glared at him from where she was curled up at the end of the bed, close by to Calebs feet.  
The two of them fell asleep within minutes of laying in bed, exhausted after what had happened in the last day. Caleb couldn’t focus on much, his brain was heavy with exhaustion, but he did recall a comment Beauregard had made when she had given him the certificate for Frumpkin.  
 _“So…we good?”_ She had asked him and now that he was laying there, thinking over the moment, he could nod his head gently and think _Ja, we are good._


	20. Birthdays Are Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone's birthday is approaching and the group are trying to decide what to get them...

**Chapter 20**   
_Birthdays Are Hard_

“So…it’s Jesters birthday soon.” Beau said, as if Fjord wasn’t already painfully aware.   
“I know.” He said. “Been thinking about it for a few weeks already. What the hell are we gonna do for it this year? We got even less money between us now then we did last year.”  
Jester had tasked Beau with delivering a box of pastries to Caleb and Nott; Fjord had decided to tag along, both to keep and eye on Beau around the nervous bookman and to get out of moving more bags of sugar. The bags were apparently endless.  
“I dunno dude, was hoping you had some ideas. Gods how many pastries did she exactly put in this box?” Beau adjusted the heavy box in her arms. “Their teeth are gonna fall out if she sends them much more.”   
“Maybe another cookbook?” Fjord suggested. “She’s been liking that one Caleb gave her.”  
“I think that’s more due to it being about Nicodranas than anything though. Get the door for me or I will definitely drop this box.”   
Fjord stepped ahead and opened the wooden door to let Beau into the bookshop, where she hurried over to the counter and dropped the box with an oof and rolled her shoulders in circles, now that they were free of the weight of multiple pastries. Caleb was sitting at the counter, blinking in surprise at the large white cardboard box that was now sitting in front of him.  
“Ah…hallo, Beauregard and Fjord. What is this?”   
“It’s from Jester.” Beau said.  
“…That can not be just pastries.” Caleb said. “Can it?”  
“Pretty sure it is.”   
“It definitely is.” Fjord added. “While we’re here, you got anymore cookbooks?”   
“Cookbooks? They are not something I really sell, I’m afraid.”  
“Where’d you get that one you gave Jester, then?” Beau asked.  
“Ah, I had bought a mixed box of books, I really only wanted two of them but the seller wouldn’t let me just have the two. They were clearing out old stock; the book happened to be in the box and I thought she would like it.”  
“…Because it’s about Nicodranas?”  
“All I really knew about her is that she bakes and is from Nicodranas.” Caleb said with a shrug.   
“Yeah but you only knew about Nicodranas because-”  
“Ja, because I spied on you with my cat. I have already apologised, have I not? Jester has talked to Frumpkin many times about home…she sounded sad at times, but many people get home sick.”   
“Jester gets really home sick.” Beau said. “She can’t really…some stuff happened so she can’t be seen back home anymore and she hasn’t been there in years.”  
“We did look at going there one year for her birthday, getting her tickets as a surprise but there was no way we could afford it.” Fjord said. “Her birthday’s soon and we’re tryna figure out what to get her.”  
“Ah…have you had any ideas so far? Besides books and a trip home, at least.”  
“Well, no.” Beau grumbled. “We weren’t even gonna consider the trip home again…travel, accommodation if we can’t stay with her Mum and you know…a political figure sort of wants her dead.”  
Well, Caleb hadn’t expected anyone to say that.  
“Ah…I feel like I am missing some back story.” He said. “I will keep my eyes peeled for any other books she may like however. Does she read anything besides cook books?”  
“Romance. She loves romance books, the sappier and smuttier the better.”  
“…Well, I will see what can be done.”  
Fjord and Beau left once Nott had come downstairs to see who was in the store. Caleb had applied her disguise earlier and rather than Nott joining herself joining them, it was Veth.  
“What if we made her something?” Was her suggestion, which actually wasn’t a bad idea, as Beau pointed out to Fjord later that day.  
“Jester would love some sort of sappy handmade stuff.”   
“She would, definitely but…what the hell can any of us make?”  
“Fat lot of nothing.” Beau grouched. “Nott is pretty handy, maybe she could knit something if we all bought the yarn?”  
“Maybe a sweater? I dunno how good she is…or what’s really possible you know? Like what is actually possible to be made.”  
“We’ll figure it out…we’ve still a few weeks.”  
Beau and Fjord wanted to believe they could think of something for Jester but it was hard, it always was. Jester had a knack for picking just the right gift for someone, Beau had accused her of using magic in the past, so it was always a sort of…personal goal to be able to do it for her. So far, they really hadn’t managed it to the degree Jester was capable of.  
“I could make her something.” Nott said to herself while she was tidying Caleb’s office. “What should I make? I don’t really know much about Jester.”  
“We know that she is very kind.” Caleb said. “She seems like someone who would appreciate whatever she was given.”  
“But I wanna give her something good not just something she’ll appreciate.”   
“Ja, I know you do. I…may have an idea but I will need to check on something first, I would not want to tell the others and then it not be possible.”   
“What is it? What’s the idea? Caleb, tell me!” Caleb pretended not to hear Nott, which resulted in Nott threatening to eat Frumpkin. It was a threat the goblin always fell on, despite it no longer working on Caleb; the wizard knew that Nott cared for him too much to hurt the cat. Caleb set himself up on his bed, Nott curled up beside him, with the old laptop he used for his email and online work. It didn’t take long to write up and send the email he had been mentally drafting for the majority of the day. He only hoped he would get a reply quick, so he had time to think of an alternate idea if he needed to. He hoped this one would work out, he was rather pleased with it; he thought it was rather perfect. 

  



	21. An Idea Is Formed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb tells the others of his idea for the birthday gift and plans are put into motion...

**Chapter 21**   
_An Idea Is Formed_

Dearest Caleb,

It is good to hear from you, it has been some time now since your last email. I hope your bookstore endeavor has gone as well as you hoped; you did seem so excited about it when you first told me of your plan. As for how I am doing, as you always so kindly inquire, I am doing rather well. I have only had a small number of ongoing projects recently but each one is rather involved, so the detailed work has been a good way to keep myself busy. 

As for your request, you know very well you are allowed to use the circle as you wish, it has never bothered me before. Your visits are always a nice break from the monotony of work, even if they are usually rather short. I do appreciate you asking though, with such a large group likely to join you on the next visit. I have no issues with the visit and of course I expect nothing in return but that is not to say I would appreciate a few small things if you are able to find them; finding supplies in town has been dreadfully difficult as of late. I will leave a list of items below this email for you, I would appreciate anything on the list. I look forward to seeing you and meeting your new friends, I may have to see whether they are good enough for you and Nott.

Well Wishes,  
Yussa

“Good morning, what can- oh, sup Caleb?” Beau asked from the other side of the counter, where her and Fjord had been busy helping Jester with the morning crowd.   
“Ah good morning Beauregard, is Jester busy?” He asked.   
“She’s just finishing up some cake decorating, did you want her?”   
“Nein…if you and Fjord are not busy today at some point, perhaps you could come see me?” He asked, trying to hide his nerves; Beauregard simply set him on edge it seemed. “It is in regards to your friends birthday.”   
“Oh sure dude, we’ll come see you…at some point.”   
“Very good, I will see you later then.” He said, giving her a small wave as he left the bakery.   
It was a few hours later when Fjord, and a very sweaty looking Beauregard, entered the bookstore. Beau had at some point during the morning changed into gym gear and Caleb, much to his own embarrassment, had to keep himself from staring at her abs. It was jealousy and admiration that drove the desire the stare and take in the sight but he had to ignore it, they were here for a reason, not for him to look at. He knew Beauregard was rather fond of fitness, as JEster had mentioned it one day, but he did not know seriously she took it until now.  
“Ah, hallo. Veth, could you come down for a moment?” Caleb called out towards the stairs, where Veth appeared seconds later.   
“Caleb I am busy!”  
“You have been nagging me all morning about my idea for Jester, do you want to hear it or not?”  
“Oh finally!” Nott, disguised as her halfling form, scurried up onto a stool next to Caleb and sat eagerly, waiting to know what secret he had been keeping from her.   
“I would have told you yesterday but I needed to check a few things, just in case what I had thought of was not possible.”   
“Well, let’s hear it. We haven’t thought of anything.” Beau said. “Gods it’s even warmer in here than outside.”  
“Ja, the candles do that. I’m quite fond of it, do not like the cold.” Caleb said. “Anyway, I had an idea for Jester’s gift; we take her to visit her home.”  
“We already talked about this dude, it’s expensive and-”  
“Ja but you did not have the ability to teleport there before.”   
Fjord, Beau and Nott exploded into words at the same time, filling the bookstore with excited and confused shouting.  
“You talked to Yussa, didn’t you?!” Veth accused him, fixing him with a glare.  
“…Do we have the ability to teleport now?” Fjord asked, more confused than excited. “How is that something you get?”  
“You can teleport us?!” Beau shouted, eyes wide and obviously excited.  
Caleb waited for a moment before nodding his head, letting the wave of loud voices wash over him until he was comfortable enough to speak again.   
“Ja, I would be able to teleport us to Nicodranas.” He said. “I have a…friend in the city, who has given me permission before to use his teleportation circle. I emailed him last night to ask if it would be alright to use it for people besides Nott and myself.”   
“And he said yes?” Beau asked; she needed confirmation before she got too excited over the idea.   
“Ja, he said he had no issue with it. He does not expect payment but would appreciate if we could bring him a few things he has not been able to find in his city, mostly for work but also some personal items. Nothing too difficult to find, though some are costly.”   
“You got a list?” Fjord asked and took the slip of paper Caleb held out to him, which Caleb had hand written the list of items on. “We have some of this stuff come in at the warehouses…I could ask my boss if he could help us out.”  
“Ya reckon he’d give us a hand?” Beau asked.  
“Doesn’t hurt to ask.” Fjord shrugged. “I’ll go in on my way home and ask.”   
Fjord’s boss at the warehouses was a an older halfling man who expected high standards of his staff; this set him apart from other warehouses managers. The work was harder and took longer than it did under different management but the workplace culture was far more pleasant, for the most part.   
Fjord arrived at the warehouse he worked in to find his boss holding some sort of meeting, the group of people standing at the base of a huge pile of wooden crates that looked as if they had fallen from one of the high shelves.   
“Hey Greenie, what are you doing here?” One of the warehouse staff, a young guy named Brian, sneered. “Thought you had the day off.”  
Larry, Fjord’s halfling boss, spun around to see who had approached the group. At seeing Fjord the man’s scowl smoothed out into a smile, though a tense one.   
“Fjord! Good to see ya son, what are you doin’ here of all places?”   
“Was hoping to ask you for a favour…looks like it might not be the best time.” Fjord said, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.   
“Walk and talk with me, Fjord, I need a coffee.” Larry said, motioning for Fjord to walk beside him towards Larry’s office. “I want you lot working, not standing around!”  
Fjord and Larry walked in silence and only when they were standing inside Larry’s office, with the door firmly shut and locked, did the man let out a deep sigh.   
“Bad day?” Fjord asked.  
“Shelf failed and we need to move all the god damn crates before we can repair it, and wouldn’t you know it? Our crane isn’t working!”   
“Well, shi-”  
“And to top it off, we’ve got a huge shipment due in a few days. I can’t accept a shipment without shelf space! Do you know who has a spare crane? No one, no one does!” Coffee was made and poured, a small shot of something stronger added to each cup, and finally Larry was sitting at his desk with Fjord sitting on the arm chair across from it. “Anyway Fjord, what did you need from me? You said a favour.”  
Fjord explained about Jester’s birthday, the teleportation, and the list of supplies they were hoping to collect at least some things from.  
“Fjord, I’d love to help ya, you know I’m fond of your blue friend, she’s awfully sweet. Tell you what, if you can get those boxes moved to the other shelves we’ve got spare, I’ll help you out. Bring in a friend if you want, bring in five friends! We’ve got three days at most, including today.”   
“I’ll uh…see what I an do.” Fjord said, nodding; he had someone in mind.   
His walk home was spent calling Jester, so she could give him the phone number for Molly, so Fjord could call Molly so he could give the phone to Yasha; apparently Yasha didn’t own a phone. Yasha didn’t need Fjord to explain much of what was going on, she only needed to be told it was to help with Jester’s birthday present and she had agreed.  
Well, at least that part was easy, hopefully the next few days at the warehouse were just as easy but Fjord had his doubts. 


	22. Something Hiding Below

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yasha and Molly arrive at the warehouse to help Fjord but find something hiding amongst the wooden crates...

**Chapter 22**   
_Something Hiding Below_

“Yasha you look terrifying, I love it.” Molly said, tailing whipping back and forth as he looked at Yasha getting ready to leave for Fjord’s place of work. She had ended up going for a black singlet and workout tights. He hoped there’d be a way to get them to stop at the bakery at some point, in the hopes that they could run into Beau. Molly looked forward to seeing how the woman would react to Yashas outfit…especially if Yasha was freshly covered in sweat from a hard day at work.   
“Molly I am only moving boxes.” Yasha said. “You should calm down. Are you ready to go?”  
Molly gave a nod and hopped off of the kitchen counter he had been sitting on, his travel cup of coffee in his hand.   
The walk to the warehouse district was a little over half an hour; the weather was warm but not hot and the walk was more enjoyable than Molly had expected.   
“Hello!” Molly shouted, waving at someone in the warehouse ahead of them. “We’re looking for-”  
“The fuck you two want?” The young blonde asked, glaring at them both and Molly wished Yasha hadn’t put the baggy cardigan over her outfit.   
“Well if you let me talk without interrupting me, I would have told you we’re looking for Fjord.”  
“You want Greenie? Whatever, I’ll take you to the boss, you can be his problem.”  
They followed the man along the side of the warehouse to a door, which he knocked on quickly before pushing it open and ducking his head into the room. Molly and Yasha stood a little closer than maybe they should have and were able to hear the chatter from within the room.  
“Boss? Couple of freaks here, they wanna see Greenie. Dunno why they’d wanna see him…” There was a pause before the young guy continued. “Boss? They wanna see gree- fine, they wanna see Fjord.”  
“Thank you Luke, I’ll come out and see them now.”  
Molly and Yasha moved back just as the man turned around and an older looking halfling followed him out from the room.   
“Right then, you’re Fjord’s- good gracious you’re bright.” The man blurt out, his face quickly going red. “I- I apologise for that, I was expecting a woman, Beauregard, not a tiefling. So, you’re here to help with the boxes?”   
“Fraid not, dear man, I was just acting as the escort for my friend. Never can be too safe.” Molly smiled and pointed a thumb in the direction of Yasha, who had wondered off to look at a pair of birds that were nesting on the top of a pile of crates. Even from the the small distance and with the cardigan, Yasha’s form was still obviously larger than most.   
“She’s big.” The halfling said. “Is she strong?”  
“Yasha! The nice man wants to talk to you, leave the birds alone.”   
Yasha returned, looking sheepish. “Sorry Molly, I have not seen them up so close before.”   
“…You’re who Fjord called in for help?” Larry asked, blinking at Yasha. “Why hasn’t he brought you here before? Boy’s holding out on me. Come on! We’ll show you to Fjord, he’s helping manage the warehouse floor today.”  
The pair followed the halfling man through the warehouse, avoiding areas where others were already working, until they found Fjord.   
“Fjord!” Larry shouted. “Friends of yours!”  
Fjord turned around from the section of shelves he’d been looking over and smiled at seeing Yasha.  
“Hey Yasha,thanks for coming in. Oh hey Molly, you here to help too?”  
“’Fraid not dear, I’m just here to hang out and look pretty.” Molly said, grinning at Fjord and ignoring how Yasha rolled her eyes at him.   
“Well, I’ll walk you through what we need to do Yasha. I’ll be back and forth most of the day, I’m running the floor since Larry’s got meetings until we close for the day.”   
“Okay.” Yasha said with a gentle nod before she followed after Fjord, leaving Molly to find somewhere to settle down and watch the going-ons of the warehouse. There was lots of men here today, all fairly young and mostly attractive in some way, so Molly was happy to camp out and watch.   
It didn’t take long to Fjord to explain the system of how the crates needed to be moved and stacked in the empty area of shelves he showed her.   
“Just don’t rush it, we’ve got a couple of days to get it done. Don’t hurt yourself by going too quick, alright?” He had warned.   
“Of course. I will let you know when I am done.” She agreed.   
“Great, I’ll come help when I can.”  
Fjord disappeared into the warehouse and left Yasha to get to work. The work wasn’t difficult, it was simply repetitive. Pick up crate from where they were on the floor, carry to shelves, place crate in shelves. It was easy work, if a little mind-numbing, but it was easy enough that Yasha didn’t have to focus too hard and could let her mind wander. This also meant she could pay attention to the other people in the warehouse, all the young men who didn’t know she could hear them. They discussed everything from the girls each of them had gone out with the night before to Yasha and how ‘greenie’ shouldn’t have brought someone in to help’. Yasha frowned at them using the term greenie, knowing it likely referred to Fjord; she considered Fjord a friend and was not pleased to hear anyone talk about him in such a way.   
Yasha was a decent way into the crates when she heard something in the shelves above her shuffling around. Rather than climb the shelves to search for the source of the noise, as she would have done if she had not been here on behalf of a friend, she went to find Fjord.  
“Fjord?” She called, seeing him in another aisle of shelves.  
“Oh hey, Yasha, how are the boxes going?”  
“Good, I have done a quarter of them I think.”  
“I told you not to rush, Yasha.”  
“I am not. It is easy work.” She said, seemingly oblivion to the glares from the warehouse workers. “Do you know if you have a spider problem?”  
“Spiders?” Fjord asked, blinking. “Nothing I’m aware of but it is a warehouse, there’s bound to be a few.”  
“It sounds…rather big, I could hear it moving in the shelves. I would have climbed up and looked; we had spiders in store houses back home, they were easy to take care of, if a little bulky to get rid of after. I do not know if me climbing up would be a good idea though.”  
“Well…I’ll come check it out then, I guess. How big were these spiders if you have to call them bulky?”   
“Oh well…we caught one alive once, trying to get out of the main store room…it was probably the same size as Frumpkin? It was only a baby so it wasn’t very vicious yet.”  
“…Frumpkin is a cat.” Fjord said flatly. “Are you telling me you used to deal with spiders that were at least as big as a cat?”  
“Yes?”   
“…Let’s pray there’s none of those in our warehouse then.”  
Fjord followed Yasha to where she had been working. He could hear…something, shuffling beneath the floorboards. He knew there was a hatch that opened to the lower area of the warehouse; where the support beams sat, in a wet basement made of mostly stone and some wooden supports.  
“Here goes nothing.’ Fjord muttered as he reached for the hatch door and yanked it open, revealing a green face and long, sharp yellow teeth. He let out a startled yelp, which alerted Yasha and a number of the men working on the floor that day. On instinct, Fjord kicked out and knew his foot had struck whatever the creature was, as it made a pained noise before disappearing from the hatch and making it’s way further into the basement.   
“Fjord what’s wrong?” Yasha asked.  
“…I’m pretty sure that was a goblin.” Fjord said and fuck he hoped he was wrong.


	23. Try Not To Upset The Wizard

**Chapter 23**   
_Try Not To Upset The Wizard_

“A goblin?” Molly asked, eyes wide and mouth in a grin that showed his fangs. “You’re sure?”  
“Pretty sure, yeah.” Fjord said, sighing.   
“Molly!” A feminine voice that Fjord knew well called out from near Larry’s office, where Larry’s high school aged daughter and her two close fiends were approaching from. “Daddy had a spare glass in his office!”   
“Oh well that is good news. Much better than your news Fjord.” Molly said, accepting a glass of something from the girls.   
“Hi Fjord.” The middle girl, a young girl with long blonde hair, said with a bright smile.  
“Hiya Valerie, girls.” Fjord gave a small nod to the other girls, a girl with short red hair and a girl with dark brown hair pulled up into a bun. “Shouldn’t you three in school?”  
“No, Fjord! Silly, I said last week that we have the week as exam block so we’ve got some time off when we aren’t doing our tests. I told you I’d come visit!”   
“Your boss had mentioned the very purple tiefling that was loitering about and the girls came to investigate.” Molly said, tailing flicking behind him. He’d perched himself up on a wooden crate and seemed happy being able to look over at whatever was going on nearby. He could look past the nasty looks the warehouse staff seemed to make in his direction, they were attractive enough to forgive the attitude. “Terribly brave of them, I think. Much braver than the others here, especially these warehouse boys.”   
“You’re so nice though Mister Molly!” Valerie said, smiling wide at Molly. “The warehouse guys are just always so rude.”  
“Speaking of which…were you girls gonna hang out here on your own today or in your Dad’s office?” Fjord asked. “I’m running the floor today so I can’t really keep an eye on ya.”  
Molly noticed Valerie’s face fall; the brightness of her eyes had faded with the comment.  
“Oh…we might head off then, gotta go to the library…”  
“What’s the issue?” Molly asked.  
“Couple of the warehouse boys…can be a little overbearing towards the girls. I told Larry I was more than happy to make sure the boys kept their distance if they were getting to be…a little too friendly.”  
“Well it’s not fair that the girls can’t enjoy their time here because of a couple of boys, is it?” Molly asked. “I really do want to come look for this goblin with you…what if they hung out with Yasha?”   
“Goblin?!”  
“Do ya think she’d mind?” Fjord asked.   
“Can’t hurt to ask! Come on girls, let’s go see Miss Yasha.”   
The trio of teenage girls followed Fjord, with Molly following behind the group. He could see the warehouse staffs heads turn when they walked past, alerted by the girls loud chatter. He noticed a couple of them nudge one another with a hand or elbow, and he suspected whatever they were saying was most likely rather crude.   
“Yasha!” Fjord called out. “How’re the crates going?”  
“Good, Fjord. I am nearly done with this sectio- oh, hello.” Yasha had noticed the girls, who were staring at her in awe.   
“Fjord she’s really tall.” Valerie whispered, or at least tried to, but Yasha nodded.  
“Yes, I am rather tall…it is good though, it can be very helpful.”   
“Yasha, these girls are Valerie and her two school friends. Valerie is my boss’ daughter. They come and hang out in the warehouse a few hours every week…I usually keep an eye on em, for the boss, to make sure the boys aren’t giving them any trouble. Problem is I’m running the floor today…and I kinda need to go into the basement now.”   
“Ah…they were welcome to hang out here, if they like.” Yasha said with a frown. “I can scare away anyone they do not want to speak to. Molly has told me I am very good at it.”   
“You’re fantastic at it, my dear.” Molly practically purred.   
Fjord and Molly left the three girls under Yashas watch and headed through the hatch into the basement of the warehouse.  
“Molly, can you keep a secret?” Fjord asked as he scanned the dimly lit area.   
“Depends how interesting it is-” Molly’s words were cut off the the sound of water splashing and the sight of a blade appearing in Fjords hand. “Gotcha, top secret.”  
The basement wasn’t all that big, as it didn’t stretch the entire distance that the warehouse did, so it didn’t take long to scout the area. There was no sign of the goblin, or whatever creature it was, but Fjord did find a shopping bag of tangled together yarn laying in a puddle.  
“Oh…fuck.”  
“…You know, if you kicked that goblin in the face-”  
“Yes, yes, I’ve probably pissed of the wizard we need to get this gift sorted out for Jester. I am aware. Why the hell was she down here?”   
“Up to goblin business, I can only guess.”   
When they returned to Yasha, she told them she had finished the work.  
“Yasha…that should have taken at least a day and a half.” Fjord said.  
“They were not that heavy, I suppose.” She said with a small smile.   
“Fjord!” Larry’s voice came from behind them and they looked to see the halfling standing with his arms crossed over his chest. A young guy with straggly blonde hair was standing beside him, holding one of his arms limping with the other. “Jeremy here tells me that your friend threw him into the shelves.”  
“Against the shelves.” Yasha said. “He did not go into the shelves, I could not do that with only one hand.”  
“…Yasha, what the hell?” Fjord asked, totally bewildered. “One hand?”  
“I was keeping the girls behind me with my other arm.” Yasha explained. “He was bothering them and would not leave.”   
“…Well that didn’t come up in the conversation, did it, Jeremy?” Larry asked, voice suddenly much deeper. “Go wait in my office, I’ll come back shortly and we can continue the conversation.”   
“Yeah…alright Boss.”   
Larry left, but made sure to throw a nasty look back at Yasha before he was out of sight of the group.   
“Well, that’s going to be a fun conversation.” Larry grumbled. “Are you girls alright?”  
“We’re fine Dad!” Valerie said as she pushed past Yasha and hugged Larry. “She’s so brave! And so is Fjord and Molly! They think there’s a goblin under the warehouse and went to check!”  
“A goblin?” Larry asked. “Fjord, you sure?”   
“Not really Boss, I know what I think I saw but there was nothing down there when we went and had a look.”   
“Well…let’s hope that doesn’t turn into a problem down the line. How are you going with the crates?”  
“Uhh…I think she’s done.” Fjord said, now that he was taking a proper look at the shelves around them. “Holy shit Yasha.”  
“So she is!” Larry said with a grin. “I’ve got some stuff in the office for you Fjord, I’ll give it to you before you leave.”   
The bag that Larry gave to fjord at the end of the shift later that night was much heavier than fjord had expected; Larry had apparently gave a little more than what Fjord had asked for. He hoped it would be enough to please whoever had provided Caleb with the teleportation circle; if this plan was a success, it would be the best thing they give to Jester.  
Now it just needed to work. 


	24. Lucky Strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jester notices something not so good on her walk home but luckily, she receives help from a stranger...

**Chapter 24**   
_Lucky Strangers_

Jester was a strong woman, she was aware of this; so were her friends. She was also rather paranoid at times now, especially when out on her own due to her past run in with one of the gangs that would pass through Zadash and other cities. She told herself constantly that it wouldn’t happen again, no one was waiting around the corner to snatch her and drag her away but…now she was walking home, with a man and woman following after her. Jester had noticed them some time ago, after leaving the bulk store where she went to order supplies for the bakery. She had left her headphones in but paused her music so that she could try and better track where they were behind her. They weren’t closing the distance but were keeping a consistent pace as they followed along behind her. She glanced to the side and saw them in the reflection of a large store front window across the road; there were three of them now, two men and the woman. She knew that the chances of them being with the Iron Sheppards was slim but once the thought was in her head it wouldn’t leave.   
There was another figure further up the street, someone that looked tall and wrapped in a heavy coat to protect them from the cold wind that had been blowing through the city all day. They were a stranger but Jester knew that it would be hard to fight off three people if her followers were in fact with the same gang that had tried to take her once before. She thought over it until a glance at another window across the street showed that they had moved closer.   
“Excuse me!” Jester shouted as she quickened her pace and closed the gap between herself and the cloaked stranger.   
The stranger turned to look at her, showing that they were rather handsome and had short white hair.   
“…Yes?” He asked, an eyebrow sticking up at the sight of the blue tiefling that had rushed towards him.  
“Sorry! Could I…” Jester glanced at the three people who had been following her; they were standing still now, watching what was happening. “Could I walk with you? Just for a little while. I have a store nearby…I can wait there.”  
“I see. Would you be waiting alone?”  
“Well…yeah, it’s just me at the store.” She was staring at the ground, trying not to let herself panic more than she was. “Oh! One of the other stores, the owner lives there I think. I could stay with him until the morning.”  
“Do you know him well?” The stranger asked; he was looking past Jester and keeping his gaze fixed on the three people that were still watching them as they talked.   
“Yeah! He’s super nice.”   
“Then I see no reason why we can not walk together. What is the name of the store?”  
“It’s called ‘The Bookman’. The guy who owns it, Caleb, is really friendly.”  
“Well that is good to hear, as I am on my way to see him now.”  
The stranger was a man named Essek and Jester instantly felt better once they began to walk together. The three strangers had followed for a short distance but eventually seemed to decide it wasn’t worth it and disappeared into the dark streets.   
“Sorry to be a bother Essek.” Jester said quietly after they had been walking for close to ten minutes. The silence of their walk had only made her paranoia worse and she needed some conversation to help drive it away.   
“It is no bother.” Essek said, his head high and focused straight ahead. “I am glad I was able to be of some help.”  
“You really were, you know.” She said. “So…why are you going to see Caleb? Are you friends?”  
“He is selling some books I am interested in purchasing and we had arranged for me to visit him today so I could look at them.”   
“Caleb’s really good at picking out books for people. He got me a cookbook all about stuff from where I grew up.”   
“That is a thoughtful gift indeed. Are you good friends?”   
“Well yeah!” Jester paused. “I think so at least…he helped us out big time with…another friend’s problem a little while ago. It was real nice of him.”  
“Well, hopefully he is as kind to me as he has been to you.” Essek said as the two of them continued their walk to Calebs store.   
The door was unlocked when they reached it, so Jester let herself and the man named Essek inside before she called out for Caleb. There was movement upstairs and moments later Caleb came down the steps but stopped on the last step and blinked at Jester a few times, apparently surprised to see her.  
“Hi Caleb!” Jester said cheerfully but Essek noticed something in the voice; someone pretending they had not been scared for their life only a short time ago.   
“Hallo Jester- Ah, hallo.” Caleb had noticed the stranger standing behind Jester “Can I help you?”  
“I believe so, Mister Widogast.” Essek said. “We had made the arrangement for me to look over some items of yours. I apologise for being later than planned…something came up.”  
“Ah! Of course, I shall get them for you now, one moment.” Caleb said and disappeared for a moment into his office, returning soon after with an armful of thick books. He set them out on the counter near the register and gestured for Essek to approach and look over them.   
“I hope it wasn’t anything too dangerous that came up.” Caleb said. “With you travelling so far.”  
“Oh, nothing that I wouldn’t have been able to handle. You friend here was having some troubles on her way home, so I walked with her.”  
“Jester?” Caleb looked over at Jester, who was standing off to the side looking at the floor with her arms wrapped around her chest. “Are you alright?”  
“Yeah…I’m okay, Caleb.” Jester said weakly but Caleb knew better to push it when someone had that tone of voice. “I’d like to get home and go to sleep, though. Today was busy at the cafe.”  
“Yes, yes, Nott told me.” Caleb said. “I can not get you home now but…perhaps once my guest has left, I could walk you home? You’re welcome to lay down upstairs, Nott is working on a scarf so she will be awake for a few hours still.”  
“Oh…that would be nice, thank you Caleb.” Jester gave him a weak smile before heading up the staircase to the small living area that was set up in the upper floor of the shop.  
“So…what happened?” Caleb asked, watching Essek from the corner of his eye as he straightened books on the shelves.   
“She was being followed on her walk home. She approached me and asked if I would walk with her, fate had arranged it that we both already knew your store, it seems.”  
“Ah…I see. Well, let’s no dwell on something that is over, ja? Tell me what you think of the books.”   
Essek and Caleb fell into conversation about the books that Caleb was hoping to sell; Essek left with all but one of the books, as it turned out to be an edition he already owned. Essek left the store, bidding Caleb a farewell and telling him that ‘I hope your friend is alright, it can be a terrible feeling to realise you’re being followed.” Caleb tried not to think about the statement too much and once Essek was gone and the store locked up for the night, he headed upstairs to check on Jester.   
“Ah, Jester?” Caleb called out softly once he reached the living space; Jester was sitting on the bed with her legs pulled close to her chest by her arms. “Are you…doing okay?”  
“Oh…yes, Caleb…I’m sorry. It’s a silly thing to be upset about.”  
“Not at all. May I sit with you?” He asked and waited for Jester to answer, which she did with a small nod of her head, before sitting on the edge of the bed. “It is not a good feeling, having someone trailing you.”  
“Have you…been followed before?” She asked and wiped at her nose with the sleeve of her sweater.  
“I don’t think I ever was…but I was always of the mind that I was. Always very paranoid that someone was after me, it was not a fun time.”   
“W-why?”  
“Why what, Jester?”  
“Did you think people were following you?”  
“Ah…it is…rather personal but…well, I was running. From a few different people, and my past…I still am I guess.”  
“Were they dangerous people?”  
“Ah…yes.” Caleb said; it wouldn’t be right not to let her know what could come for him. He didn’t want any of them to get hurt due to what he had done.  
“Oh…well, that’s okay.” Jester said, giving him a small smile over her knees. “You’ve got us now, we can keep you safe. Nott too, we’ll keep you both safe.”  
“I…thank you Jester.” Caleb said, unsure of what he should say. “I will try to keep you all safe as well. Would you like to wait a little before heading home?”  
“I think that would be good.”  
“Ja, then I will make us some tea.”  
It was a good routine, the act of making tea and preparing a small plate with some biscuits. It was even nicer to do it for people beside Veth and himself. Veth had climbed into the bed to sit next to Jester; Jester watched the small goblin woman work on knitting a scarf while Caleb got their tea ready. It was a nice idea, having friends to make tea for; he would keep them safe. No matter what he would have to do.  
He would not lose these friends. 


	25. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yasha is concerned she hasn't been helpful enough and Caleb does his best to ease her worries...

**Chapter 25**   
_Preparations_

“Essek was nice.” Jester said. “What kind of books was he buying from you? Were they magic books? Spellbooks?”  
“Nein.” Caleb said without looking up from the book he he laid out on the counter; a cup of tea was sitting next to the book but Caleb hadn’t had a sip yet. He knew it was likely cold by now - his brain was too busy for him to focus on anything this morning. “Simply some history books.”  
“Oh.” Jester said, her excitement crushed. “Well…at least he was nice, to me anyway. Was he nice to you? Was he nice to Nott?”  
“Ja, he was very nice.” Caleb glanced at the staircase that lead upstairs to the living space he shared with the little goblin woman. “He has not met Nott but he is aware of her. I have told him about her and made it clear that he does not have to like her but he must be polite. So far he hasn’t had anything negative to say, not even an accidental comment; either he is very mindful of how he speaks or he simply doesn’t care enough to say anything.”  
“Oh.” She said. “That’s alright then. He better not say anything, or he’ll have to answer to me as well!”  
“You are very kind, Jester.” Caleb said. “We are very lucky to have you as our business neighbour…and friend.”  
“I’m lucky to have you guys too!”   
“That is kind of you to say.” Caleb said; he looked back at his book, pretending to read but mostly wanting to hide any redness that had surely crept up onto his face. “Are you feeling alright this-”  
“Oh Beau’s outside!” Jester shouted, apparently not realising she had interrupted Caleb. “Talk to you later, Caleb! Thanks for all your help!”  
There was a rush of footsteps then the sound of the door opening and closing again soon after; Caleb was left alone in the store for the first time since Jester and Essek had arrived the night before. Nott had gone out, disguised as Veth, to go explore the weekend markets. Caleb was thankful for the silence but now needed to keep himself busy so that his mind would stop wandering; he had too many people and too many things going through his mind today and many of them, he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to think over. He didn’t know if he ever would be; it was safer to simply try and ignore it. He decided that working on the books for the store would be a good idea, lots of numbers from the in and out going money to keep his mind busy. What he wanted to be working on were the final plans for Jesters birthday surprise but with the risk of her appearing during the day, whether just to visit or to drop off baked goods, he didn’t want to have any of the necessary papers out in view. Some of the plans could just be mulled over in his head; Beau and Molly had both taken on the job of arranging an outfit for Jester to wear on the day. Caleb, and Fjord for that matter, had both been dubious as to whether the pair could work together but they seemed to be getting on with their job with little bickering. Yasha had asked what else she could do to help, as she felt like moving some boxes wasn’t nearly enough of a contribution.   
Caleb was drawn out his thoughts by the sound of the bell over the front door ringing and went he looked up, the large form of Yasha was coming through the door.   
“Ah, hallo Yasha.” Caleb said. “How are you?”  
“I am good.” She said, giving him a soft but what looked like an almost nervous smile. “I was wondering if you could help me with a book.”   
“Oh ja, I can do that. What do you need?”  
“I would like a book about flowers.” She said.   
“Anything specific? Care guide? Meanings?”  
“Oh…flower meanings, that would be good. I had a rather guidebook but it has gone missing.”  
Caleb left his stool behind the counter and moved to the spot he knew the few books about flowers were sitting, neatly tucked into their own spot next to a vase of fake flowers Nott had placed on the shelf. The fake flowers had begun to gather some dust so Caleb made a mental note to clean them off later.   
“I only have a small number of books but they are here if you would like to look over them and see if any of them are what you need.” He said, gesturing to the shelf holding the books.   
“Oh, thank you. I will come over to you when I’m done…I might look around a little as well.”  
Caleb nodded and returned to his seat behind the counter; he resumed his work on the accounting ledgers. There was something almost soothing about the sounds of people in the store when they wanted to just wander about and look over books rather than just talk to him. The soft footsteps of Yasha walking throughout the store, stopping every now and then when she found something new to look at and the gentle rustling as she flipped through the pages of various books, was a nice background noise for while he worked.  
“Caleb?” Yashas voice broke the silence after almost fifteen minutes; he had almost forgotten she was even in the store. “I think I’ll just get this one.”  
Caleb glanced up at the book in her hand and nodded. “It is yours.” He said.  
Yasha nodded and reached into her pocket but stopped when Caleb raised a hand and shook his head.   
“Nein, you may just…have it.”  
“But its very expensive.” She was frowning.  
“I doubt it will sell.” He shrugged. “We could trade if you prefer? You may have the book…if you would do some flowers for Nott. She will not say so herself but she’s rather fond of them, especially in her hair but I am not very good at picking them out for her.”  
“Oh…yes, I could do that.” Yasha nodded and gave him a small smile. “I will drop some off in the week.”   
“That would be kind of you.” Caleb said, expecting her to leave but she stayed and hovered near the counter. “Is…everything okay?”   
“I have not done enough.” She stated. “I want to help more.”  
“Was? With?”  
“Jester’s gift.” Yasha said. “I just…I only moved some boxes.”   
“Ja. Many large boxes, going by what Mollymauk has been telling me.” Caleb said. “Fjord was telling me as well that his boss was quite pleased with you keeping his daughters safe, though I am unsure exactly what the situation was, so he had actually slipped some extra gold into the bag of items he gave Fjord. Of course the original items will go to Yussa as planned; we have been trying to think of what to use the money on. You have been more than helpful Yasha.”  
“But…there’s nothing else we need to do?”  
Caleb frowned while he tried to think of something; the plan was relatively thorough and he didn’t think there was much else but…well, maybe.  
“Jester’s mother, do you know much about her?” He asked and when Yasha shook her head, he continued. “Well, from what little I have been told by Beau and Fjord, her mother is a well known performer in Jester’s home city but…due to an upset with a powerful political figure, Jester fears that there may be…a violent reaction to any news of herself returning home.”  
“But what-”  
“Jester can look after herself, I am sure; she’s quite strong but it may not go amiss to…have some security arranged.” Caleb explained. “Perhaps there would be a way for you to help get some sort of…personal security arranged?”  
“Do you know the name of the person who is upset with Jester?”  
“A lord; Lord Sharp.” Caleb said. “Quite well known in the city, from what I can tell.”   
“I will…let me think about it.” Yasha said before nodding once and leaving the store with her new book held tightly against her chest.   
Caleb wasn’t sure if he had said the right thing; he really had no idea what he was doing when it came to this new group of people he and Nott had begun to refer to as friends. Hopefully Yasha was able to take what he said and make it into something useful; she seemed smart, which many people didn’t seem to notice. Perhaps they only took her at face value…really, they had all taken him at face value as well when he thought about it…the scruffy bookman-  
No.  
He wouldn’t let himself dwell; he knew none of them had been truly cruel towards him. Jester had always been forward and more kind than anyone he had met in a long time. Beauregard was up front in a way that did frighten him at first but he was becoming used to how brash she was personality wise and if he was honest with himself; she was one of his favourites of the group. The others were a mixture of kind and each of them had their own quirks that Caleb was slowly learning and tucking away in his mind for the future. There was a gentle beep from the pocket of his coat; Beauregard had texted him eight pictures of various items her and Mollymauk had found while out shopping for Jester. 

Beauregard: What things do you think she’d like  
FireBoi: I think you would be a better judge of what Jester would like than myself  
FireBoi: But if I must choose; the lilac coat and the white boots are very nice together  
Beauregard: Gotcha boss  
Beauregard: We’re all set for tomorrow? Jester’s coming over at four and we managed to get a table booked for dinner  
FireBoi: Yes we are all set, she just needs to turn up to your apartment  
Beauregard: And so do you, wizard boy

Caleb looked at his phone; he was torn between excitement and sickening nervousness at the thought of seeing the others in a new, unfamiliar location. Even worse, it was one of their homes; it felt more and more like Caleb was being knitted into this group and he was scared that one day he would be ripped out of it.   
“Caleb!” Nott called out to him as she threw the door open and rushed into the bookstore with her arms full of the last few things they needed for the gift. “Is this it? Are we ready?”  
“Ja, I think we are.” Caleb said as he gave up and closed the book he had been pretending to pay attention to; once they closed up for the day, he would get to work.


	26. Careful Planning; Successful Outcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jester meets up with the gang for movie night, but their real intentions of getting together are revealed...

**Chapter 65**  
_Careful Planning; Successful Outcome_

They were ready, mostly. Caleb had arrived with Nott not long ago to begin setting up the final parts of their plan. Everyone was ready and Jester was on her way, with Molly in tow, to visit Beau’s apartment for a movie night with the group.   
“This isn’t gonna ruin my floor, is it?” Beau was asking Caleb from her seat on the couch. She had been watching him draw up the teleportation circle, partly because it was interesting and partly because the sound of chalk on the wooden floor was relaxing.   
“It isn’t going to ruin us is it?” Fjord asked.   
“Nein.” Caleb answered without looking away from his work. “Ah, to both of you. The floor will be perfectly okay afterwards, as will we.”   
The door to the apartment flew open and shut as an invisible Nott scrambled back inside, only dropping the spell once the door was closed.  
“They’re in the hall!” She told them “Everyone get ready!”  
The group adjusted themselves and fell into their pre-decided fake activities to convince Jester that they were in fact just having a movie night. The door opened only moments later and Jester soon entered the apartment, followed by Molly who was carrying a large plastic shopping bag full of snacks and drinks.   
“Hi everyone!” Jester shouted, smiling at them all. “We didn’t wear any pajamas because Molly had to go to the store and wouldn’t wear them in public, but we were comfy clothes!”   
Caleb glanced over, not raising his head with the action, and caught sight of Mollymauk and Jester in their comfortable wear; loose flowing pants and baggy shirts that still clung to their bodies somehow. He quickly looked back to his teleportation circle before he began to stare at them.   
“Heya Jess, that’s alright.” Beau said as she pulled a neatly wrapped purple and gold box out from where it was sitting on the floor on the other side of the couch. “You need to get changed for a second anyway. Happy Birthday.”  
“You guys!” Jester was at Beau in a flash, accepting the box and giving it a tight squeeze. “I didn’t mention-”  
“We know Jess, but it’s ya birthday. We gotta do something.” Fjord said from the kitchen. “Hope you like it, Beau and Molly picked it out.”  
Jester sat on the couch next to Beau, letting her feet rest on the ground close to where Caleb was working.   
“Caleb stop working, Jester is opening her present.” Nott said as she settled on the ground next to Caleb and leant against him; he gave a soft smile as he sat upright and allowed her to settle against him.   
“Ja, okay.” He said softly.  
“It’s not very heavy, so it’s not more books.” Jester said shaking the box gently. “Hmmm…oh, more aprons! Or…maybe a scarf?” She untied the gold ribbon that was had been made into a neat bow on the gift and tore the paper away to reveal a deep blue cardboard box. The group watched as she opened the box and pulled out the coat that had been neatly folded; lilac coloured with white fur trim on the end of the sleeves and the lower hem. There was a tiny white fur hat and a pair of white boots in the box as well.  
“You guuuys!” She squealed. “I need to go try-”  
“Jester.” Nott said, catching her attention before she could disappear into another room. “This is from me and Caleb.”   
Caleb held out the gift he had wrapped that morning; a lumpy sort of parcel wrapped in brown paper and tied with a piece of green yarn. “Sorry it isn’t wrapped very nice.”   
Caleb rested his hand on Notts head and stroked her hair gently as they watched Jester settle back on the couch and carefully unwrap the newest gift.  
“Oh…” She pulled out the white dress that Nott had found at a thrift store the day before; Nott had spent the night embroidering dozens of tiny flowers and leaves along the bottom hem of the dress, as well as a few small bumble bees and ladybugs. “You guys, I love it! I’m going to try everything on!”  
“Ours first!” Nott called out after Jester and once the tiefling was gone from sight, Caleb went back to the circle while the others waited, nervous that the plan wouldn’t go to plan.   
“Caleb, what are you even working on?” Beau asked loudly as Jester came back into the room a moment later. She had changed into the white dress, which looked even more of a bright white against her blue skin. “Wow Jess, it’s-”  
“Perfect!” Jester squealed as she spun in a circle. “Caleb! It’s movie night, you shouldn’t be working.”  
“Ja, I am nearly done Jester.” Caleb said as she stood up and dusted his hands off on his coat. “I only need to test it now.”  
“And I am not helping you, so don’t ask me again.” Beau said.  
“Oh, oh, I will!” Jester said with a little hop. “What is it?”  
“Ah, it is a spell to change your appearance, hopefully for long periods of time.” He explained. “If you could stand in the middle-”  
Jester practically ran across the room to stand in the middle of the circle, only a few inches from where Caleb already was.  
“-Ja, thank you. Now close your eyes and tell me what you’d like to look like.”  
“Oh, oh, can I look human?” She asked and shut her eye tight, her face scrunching up a little from the effort.   
“Ja, of course.”  
“Okay well…kinda like how I already look, you know but with like brighter blue hair and…no horns! I want to be a human version of Jester!”  
“Ja, that can be done. Keep your eyes shut. It may feel a little weird; I will let you know when you can open your eyes.”  
Jester nodded and everyone else watched as Caleb began the spell to activate the teleportation and after a few moments, the chalk circle on the ground began to glow bright white and then Jester and Caleb were gone; the others rushed to the the circle, grabbing their overnight bags from where they had hidden them around the room. Everything was white and they felt like they were being upwards by something but then they felt their feet hit solid ground again and everything faded back into view.   
“Ah.” Caleb said. “Now Jester, I must…tell you, I had lied a little bit about the spell.”   
“…What?” Jester asked. “I don’t look human?”  
“Not yet, that can be done shortly.”  
“Then what was the spell?” Jester asked and her eyes flew open as she shot a glare in the direction of where she had heard Caleb’s voice. Rather than saying anything else, her words got lost as she took in the sight of the new room they were in. A large room made of neat stone, full of books and research equipment but also decorated much nicer than the homes of anyone she knew, besides her Mama.   
“Where are we?”   
“The tower of a very good friend of mine; a wizard called Yussa.” Caleb explained. “He allows me use of his teleportation circle when I wish to visit, as Nicodranas is some distance away.”  
“Yussa- what?” Jester was staring at him now with wide eyes. “Where are we?”   
“Fjord and Beau explained you can’t be seen in the city so we can change your appearance before we leave the tower.” Caleb said. “Ah- it was a group effort, for your birthday.”  
“Happy Birthday, Jess.” Fjord said, finally alerting Jester to the fact everyone else was also in the room.   
“You guys!” Jester said in a half squeal half sob and moved around the room to hug everyone, even crouching down to give Nott a tight hug. When she got back to Caleb she came to a stop, and held her arms together in front of her chest.  
“Ah, Jester?” Caleb asked. “Are you-”  
“I-is it okay if…can we hug?” She asked. “I know you’re not a huge-”  
“Ja, ja, it is okay this time.” He said and had barely finished speaking when Jesters arms were wrapped tightly around him. “We should get going, we have seats for dinner I believe.”   
“Oh, where are we going?”  
“It is a surprise.” Caleb said, smiling as Jester let go and followed after Nott towards the door; he let himself trail behind the group, trusting that Nott could lead the group to the exit downstairs and get everyone ready to head out into the city they had just arrived in. 


	27. Dinner Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group heads towards their destination for dinner; Caleb runs into....perhaps he wouldn't call them old friends...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this reads as if I did bare basic editing; that's exactly what I did!

**Chapter 27**   
_Dinner Plans_

“Beau thought you might like this place for dinner.” Fjord explained to Jester as the group approached the building Fjord and Beau had told them about. “Reviews online were good, we even got rooms for the night.”  
Caleb had changed Jester’s appearance before leaving the tower, as his spell gave her eight hours of disguise then her one. He had changed his own as well so that he would look less like a scruffy hobo and stick out from the crowd less, though it would be difficult to remain completely unnoticeable, what with the group who had arrived with him.   
“Just up ahead Jess.” Beau said. “The blue one, can you see it-”  
“Oh my gosh!” Jester squealed. “It’s- you guys!”  
She began to speed walk towards the brilliant blue building they could see up ahead while the others followed her lead.In the excited chitter chatter of the group, the others didn’t seem to notice when a hand grabbed Calebs shoulder and pulled backwards to stop him from walking forward.   
“Caleb.” One of the men behind him said with an almost feral edge to his voice. “It’s been ages since we’ve seen you.”  
“I-”  
“Where you been man? We missed ya.”   
“I have been busy-”  
“Burning anymore houses down?”   
Calebs words got stuck in his throat; if he had been unsure of who had grabbed him, that would have confirmed it.   
It was Molly who noticed that their scruffy wizard had fallen behind and Molly again was the one who noticed the two men that seemed to have wedged Caleb between them as they leant to close for comfort towards him. Yasha was the one who cut through the crowds of the busy street and made her way towards Caleb.  
“Caleb.” She said, loud enough to be heard over the crowd but not a shout. Caleb looked in her direction and she knew by the look on his face that the two men he was with were not people he wished to speak to. “Is everything alright-”  
“Just fine.” One of the men said, cutting her off, and gave a small wave with his hand. “We’re just catching up with an old friend.”   
“Yes, but-” Caleb tried to say but the other man shoved his shoulder against Caleb and pressed in closer.   
“Naw Caleb, we’re just having a chat.” He said. “How’s the family? Where you living these days? Had a rough go, eh? You could come stay with us…”  
Yasha saw a flash of pain overcome Calebs features for just a second; if he did know these people, she wasn’t sure if they would count as friends. Luckily, he did have friends there.   
“Unfortunately, we are about to go for dinner and Caleb is the only one who they will allow to bring us in.” She said, nodding her head back towards the Lavash Chateau and their friends group; she hadn’t noticed that Beau had also moved closer. “So, we will need him back.”  
“You two coming?” Beau asked; she came to stand beside Yasha. “We’ve got a booking and Jess is getting impatient.”   
“Oh, who’s Jess?” One of the men asked, eyes moving past Yasha and Beau and scanning the crowd behind them.   
“A friend.” Beau said as she approached the three men. “Not really any of your business, if I’m perfectly honest. So, are you two going to let this man get back to what he is meant to be doing, or is it going to be more difficult than that?”  
Despite Beau being shorter than the two men, she seemed to come off as being far more intimidating than they had initially thought; the two men backed away from Caleb and with a pair of smirks they both disappeared into the crowd.   
“What dicks.” Beau said; she reached out and slowly slid an arm around one of Calebs, catching the arm in the crook of her elbow. “Come on, Caleb. Time for dinner.”  
“J-ja.” Caleb mumbled.  
Yasha walked a few steps in front of them to clear a path through the crowd for Beau and Caleb; Beau was sort of leading Caleb along. He was staring ahead but didn’t seem to be taking anything in as they walked. Jester was waving at the three of them from the steps of the Lavish Chateau; Fjord was frowning and Molly was watching them carefully with an eyebrow raised. Nott, in her Veth disguise, was standing beside Jester; she was sort of tucked behind Jester, and Molly was positioned in such a way that he would have a good chance of catching the little goblin if Jester missed.   
“You lot ready?” Fjord asked once the group rejoined with their friends; Beau gave a small nod. Yasha was looking behind them and scanning the crowd.  
“Ja.” Caleb said flatly. “It is ah, time for dinner.”   
“…Right.” Fjord said, obviously not convinced that the others were alright at all. “We’ve got a table booked but could probably arrange to eat in the rooms if you guys would prefer.”  
“Nein-” Caleb began, then caught himself and looked nervously at the others. “Unless you would all prefer-”  
“Nah, downstairs will be nice.” Beau said with a shrug. “Might be ale to see a performance.”  
The group headed inside, where they were greeted by a young lady with bouncy blonde hair that ended at her shoulders.   
“Hello!” She said; she was just about the same height as Beau and wore a tight green dress that flared out a little from her knees. It reminded Caleb of a mermaid, or what he had read about them and seen in illustrations. “How can I help you all?”  
“We have a, ah, booking for this evening; a number of rooms and a table for dinner.” Caleb said, seemingly being pulled out of his head by the womans question. “For the lot of us. It should be booked under-”  
“Ah, Mister Widogast?” She asked and when Caleb nodded in answer she smiled even wider and did a little…bounce, that made her body move in a way that grabbed Beaus attention; she had been looking in awe at the entrance hall. If the rest of the place was just as luxurious, she could only imagine what the rooms would be like.  
“Well alright! It’s lovely to meet you all! The Ruby of the Sea is currently getting ready for a show but you are welcome to head to your rooms and come back down for dinner, if you’d like.” The woman said; her voice was soft but she spoke quickly and it took concentration to follow what she was saying. “Oh! I’m so sorry; my name is Cynthia and I am the hostess for tonight. If you have any requests or concerns, you come to me! Now, what would you like to do?”  
“Well, we did not bring very much as it is only a night stay but perhaps it would be good to drop off our few bags, ja?” Caleb looked around at the group, who all nodded; Jester was bouncing on her feet out of sheer excitement. “Then we shall do that.”  
“Perfect!” She cheered and raised a hand beside her head and snapped her manicured fingers twice; long shimmery green nails that came to a sharp tip. A woman with long, wavy red hair came from another room; her dress was more a long robe made of emerald green velvet that came to her ankles and swished as she walked. “This lovely lady is Sasha; she’ll show you to your rooms. The next performance starts in twenty minutes! There is a table set ready for you, just look for your name! Have a good evening!”  
The group gave her waves and ‘thank yous’ as they followed after the new woman, Sasha, and headed up a flight of stairs to the next floor. Caleb kept a tight hold of Notts hand as she walked along, her eyes jumping from shiny object to shiny object.   
“Beautiful place you have here.” Fjord said. “It is our first time; the trip is a birthday gift for your friend.”  
He gestured in Jesters direction, who smiled and gave a small wave.   
“Ah, tis but a fine place for fine people.” She said, voice like honey and something that wouldn’t hurt to listen to for hours. “Very well, here are you rooms. One for the boys and one for the girls; or however you may like to arrange yourselves. Head downstairs for the finest meal and drinks you’ll have while you are in the city; should you need any company, I am only but a floor away.”  
She handed a key to Fjord, and one to Beau, before walking through the group back towards the staircase but made sure to throw a wink towards Beau before leaving the group to settle in.  
“Well-” Fjord said.  
“Wow-” Beau breathed.  
“Scheisse.” Caleb muttered. “We are like children here.”  
“Like a candy store.” Beau said with a nod.   
Caleb only rolled his eyes but when he turned to look at the door closest to him, he locked eyes with Molly in passing; the purple tiefling shrugged and grinned, as if to say “What can you do?” about their friends. Caleb gave a small smile and nodded in agreement before moving towards Fjord and following the man into the room he unlocked. The girls headed into the other room but Caleb noticed Molly looking at the other door for a second before following the men into their room and throwing his bag onto one of the plush double beds.   
“Right, anyone wanna freshen up or head down now?” Fjord asked the other two. “I’m fine to just head right down.”  
“I would like to use the bathroom quickly.” Caleb said.   
“And I would like to get changed for dinner.” Molly said, nodding towards his bag.  
“What if you go down and find the table?” Caleb suggested. “You could knock on the girls door and tell them you are going down.”   
“Alrighty, see you fellas shortly.” Fjord gave them a wave before leaving the room, making sure to close the door behind him. Caleb headed to the bathroom and washed his face, making sure to take his time and deciding to take a look around the bathroom that was equally as luxurious as the rest of what they had seen so far at the Chateau.   
“Ah, Mr Mollymauk?” Caleb asked when he finally returned to the bedroom.   
“Yes Mister Caleb?” Molly asked in return, smiling at Caleb from where he was sitting besides his bag on the bed. “Anything you need?”  
“You ah- do not have to stay in this room if you ah, do not feel comfortable-”  
“Oh, Mister Caleb.” Molly said with a soft, sweet smile. “You are too kind, and far too observant. I’m alright Mister Caleb, I’m comfortable either way.”  
“…If you are sure.”  
“Very.” Molly grinned. “Come on then! Lets go meet the others for dinner.”  
Molly got up from the bed as Caleb moved past and was quick to hook his elbow into the crook of Calebs; it was unexpected but…not uncomfortable so Caleb gave a small nod and the two of them headed down to meet the others for dinner. 


End file.
